


Like a Hurricane

by rarepairqueen



Series: The Heat Fic Series [16]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, First Time, Fluff and Smut, Friends to Lovers, Love Confessions, M/M, Porn with Feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-28
Updated: 2020-04-28
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:55:16
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 23,944
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23894938
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rarepairqueen/pseuds/rarepairqueen
Summary: The rumours flying around about certain other teams and their first years prompts some introspection for Seijoh's own first years. Kunimi doesn't know how he should feel about it and that isn't helped by being woken up at 3am by Kindaichi worrying about it all.It all happens at once, like a hurricane reaching land, and he just lets the universe take him to wherever he needs to be. Which happens to be Kindaichi's bed.Alternate title: Oikawa being a slut for gossip has unintended side effects.
Relationships: Kindaichi Yuutarou/Kunimi Akira
Series: The Heat Fic Series [16]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/739218
Comments: 12
Kudos: 250





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know how this ended up being so long, but we're here now and I'm sure no-one is going to complain 😉

Gossip was a funny thing. Within schools, within volleyball teams, even amongst friends. There was always something to be spoken about in hushed whispers, the topic of private group chats, the perfect source material for memes and inside jokes.

It got worse the wider the net was cast. What could be spoken about within one team or school was one thing, but when _other_ teams started talking about you, that's when it got less fun and more serious.

Kunimi was all too aware of this. After all, he knew the stories of Kageyama's middle school disaster had spread around. There were various other rumours and stories that filtered between teams, often through someone whose cousin knew a guy who attended the rival school and so on. Some were more readily available over email group chats, text messages sent to 'the wrong person'. But there were some stories that caught like wildfire on the wind.

Despite Seijoh not being invited to the training camp that summer, they heard _all_ about it. Every single detail of the almost-turf-war between Nekoma and Karasuno sparked by the cat-captain himself. Oikawa had been greatly amused by it as soon as he heard about it from a former teammate. Seijoh's summer camp had been focused on one thing and one thing only: preparation for the next stage of their tournament.

That was until the gossip started. The story of Karasuno's first years presenting early, of Nekoma being involved a little _too closely_ for most people's comfort. The closing days of their summer camp had been dominated by Oikawa trying to tap anyone for information.

Kunimi knew it was so he could look to capitalise on any alignments in the upcoming matches. It was a dirty tactic, but Oikawa wasn't above using them. He took suppressants after all, just as Bokuto did. It was a common thing for captains to do. So much so that Kunimi wasn't even sure what Oikawa was - besides a volleyball obsessed freak of course. Iwaizumi certainly didn't give any indication he knew, and neither did Hanamaki or Matsukawa.

It was a mystery Kunimi didn't want to solve. He was fine just continuing at his own pace and trying to forget it was even a thing. Besides, he had another year before he had to deal with it himself. Just seeing the likes of Yahaba and Kyoutani starting to show those changes was enough to convince him to hope he was a late bloomer. Kyoutani was aggressive most of the time since he returned, but that just seemed to increase tenfold and frankly, Kunimi wasn't a fan of it.

That wasn't to say he didn't find the entire thing _interesting_. He just found the focus on who was what incredibly trivial. It was also exhausting to always feel like he was being scrutinised, people trying to guess who he was going to present and how it would change him. Honestly, all it changed was whether he was going to actually have to _do something_ when the time came or just let someone else deal with it. He felt like he flip-flopped on what he'd prefer, he liked being in control but he also didn't want to be responsible for someone else like that. but he brushed it off.

Because he had another year to think about it.

Right?

As the latest rumour exploded onto the scene of volleyball, Oikawa's sluttiness for gossip reached a fever pitch.

"He's with _who?!_ "

Iwaizumi sighed heavily. He wished he had blocked certain numbers from Oikawa's phone at this point. No-one really knew what to think of their captain suddenly exploding mid-way through a study session that somehow dragged the entire team into it. Usually the third years stuck to themselves, Yahaba took charge of the second years and everyone else just paired off within their friendship groups. Oikawa had insisted however and now Kunimi was wondering if this was all some sort of ploy to 'bond as a team'.

Not that it mattered as he started ranting about a text he received from one of his 'informants'. Iwaizumi had repeatedly told him to stop acting like they were in a spy movie but even his words fell on deaf ears as Oikawa shoved the phone in Hanamaki's face.

"Tell me that's not what it says!"

Hanamaki, to his credit, at least pretended to be just as invested in this lunacy. "Tobio and...Nekoma's setter?"

Kunimi wasn't sure he believed that for one second. Kageyama couldn't possibly care about anyone in that capacity. Certainly not someone outside his own team. But as the phone was passed between third years, finally reaching Iwaizumi who gave it a few moments before saying anything, he started to wonder.

"I mean, he's not exactly incapable of feeling things." Iwaizumi shrugged. "Who cares?"

Yes. Exactly, who cared? Kunimi didn't. Kageyama had shredded any semblance of a friendship way back in middle school. He didn't care who he fucked. However it was the underlying tone of the situation that got under his skin; if Kageyama had presented already, was Kageyama a freak or was something wrong with _him_? He glanced to Kindaichi who seemed rather flustered about this topic now being brought up. That didn't surprise Kunimi one bit but putting the weirdness of talking about a former teammate's sex life aside, it raised questions.

Oikawa's gaze found his. Kunimi got a very uneasy feeling from the scrutinising gaze.

"What?" He asked.

"Did you know about this?"

"No. I don't talk to Kageyama." He replied bluntly. "Why the fuck would I?"

Oikawa didn't seem convinced, but the gaze didn't shift. Kunimi knew there was a question on his mind but even Oikawa wasn't shitty enough to ask outright in front of everyone. No he'd wait until they were heading home, then he'd corner Kunimi and dance around the subject, pushing buttons until Kunimi came clean and told him whatever he wanted. Oikawa was despicable in many ways, but he was intelligent. And Kunimi both loathed him for it and admired him greatly.

Yahaba cleared his throat. "So, back to trigonometry?"

The collective sigh of relief heard over the group was borderline hilarious. Seijoh wasn't a close-knit team, but they almost always ended up finding out things about each other purely by how Oikawa seemed to have this supernatural ability to read people. And once you were read by Oikawa, you were basically an open book to everyone else. Seijoh was a weird team, Kunimi would admit that, but they weren't freaks like other teams.

At least they didn't fuck each other and let it be common knowledge.

Once the study session had drawn to its close and most of the team made a quick escape from Iwaizumi's house, Kunimi allowed himself to sigh in relief. He had evaded Oikawa's questions and even escaped with his dignity. Though as he walked with Kindaichi towards their usual splitting off point, he felt like he needed to address the whole thing.

Kindaichi beat him to it though.

"So, Kageyama." He sighed.

"What about him?" Kunimi gave him a side-glance.

"Well, I knew he was...weird but presenting this early is some feat."

Kunimi shrugged. "So? Doesn't mean shit to us."

Kindaichi didn't voice any agreement. That in itself made Kunimi start thinking deeper into this. Maybe it was a sign, maybe it wouldn't be as long as they thought before they'd have a similar development. Or maybe Kageyama was just a freak of nature like the rest of Karasuno.

"Do you think Oikawa cares a little too much?"

"Obviously." Kunimi snorted. "Guy's so obsessed with this sorta thing. I'm surprised he's not interrogated us yet." Kindaichi let out a nervous laugh, Kunimi eyed him with a certain amount of suspicion, a coy smile on his face. "Well, he hasn't interrogated _me_ yet."

"I-uh, well he didn't ask me either. But Yahaba was making a big deal about..." Kindaichi trailed off, his cheeks reddening. "He was like 'no-one wants to know if you've presented, don't fucking tell us.'."

Kunimi laughed. The idea that Yahaba was the opposite of Oikawa wasn't new, but this was hilarious to him. Maybe it was some attempt to keep the focus on volleyball and not each other but going to the extent as to lecture his kouhai was extreme. Maybe he just wanted to set that precedent before he became captain.

"Great, at least someone's keeping their wits about them." He remarked, casting a new glance at Kindaichi. The other's cheeks were still red and he almost gave off the impression that he was avoiding looking directly at Kunimi lest his embarrassment show. "Anyway, we don't have to think about it. We're not anywhere near Kageyama's level of weird."

"No, we're not." Kindaichi stiffly replied, trying to lift the mood with another nervous laugh.

Kunimi playfully punched his shoulder, catching Kindaichi off guard enough for him to yelp in protest. They shared a more genuine laugh as the awkward conversation faded into distant memory. For the first time that afternoon, Kunimi didn't feel like he was stepping on eggshells. They reached the street corner that they usually parted at, hanging around for a few moments as they wrapped up their conversation. It felt calm, certainly calmer than the loaded conversations with the team.

"Alright, I'll see you in the morning." Kindaichi smiled. "Usual time?"

Kunimi nodded. "Half seven." He confirmed as Kindaichi turned to take his leave. He didn't usually wait to watch the other walk down the street, but that day he found himself doing just that. He blamed it on the weather, it was a nice warm evening so he didn't really want to return to the confines of his room just yet. However just watching Kindaichi walk away from him left him feeling a strange loneliness.

He shook it off. Before Kindaichi could notice him staring, he turned on his heel and continued walking home alone.

* * *

The next few days consisted of Kunimi finding his thoughts often wandered. Usually this wasn't abnormal, but it’s what they were wandering _to_ that had him a little confused. He and Kindaichi were close, everyone knew this. From a volleyball perspective; they had been playing together just as Oikawa and Iwaizumi had done, they had known each other for years. He almost lost count of how many exactly. He just knew that Kindaichi had always been present in his life.

It wasn't unusual for him to think about Kindaichi, often it was debating if they were going to hang out that weekend or if there was a movie either of them wanted to see. But he was thinking about how Kindaichi seemed hung up on what the team now referred to as 'the Karasuno situation'. Hearing that their old teammate had presented and managed to get with someone didn't seem to sit right with Kindaichi.

Then again, the Kageyama they knew was a spoilt little shit who bullied his teammates. They had no idea how Karasuno could stand him, but that wasn't the point. The point was it rattled Kindaichi enough for him to be caught up on it. Kunimi would be lying if he said he wasn't at least a _little_ curious. Not about Kageyama, but about the entire presenting thing. Considering Yahaba's obvious displeasure for talking about it, the only other people in the team that could tell him anything were the third years.

And he sure as hell wasn't about to ask Oikawa about it. He valued his dignity and privacy, or what remained of it. So he brushed the thought aside. He didn't need to think about it for a while. Or at least that's what he thought.

Once again, on their walk home, Kindaichi seemed distracted by something. The gentle resting frown on his face a clear indication as any that he was deep in thought. Kunimi usually teased him about it, saying he was gonna end up with a resting bitch face if he carried on, usually Kindaichi returned it with a similar retort about his apathic attitude.

"Oi, you better not be thinking about Kageyama again." He remarked, jabbing Kindaichi in the side. "I told you, he's irrelevant."

"I know." Kindaichi didn't even bother trying to argue. "I was thinking more...about the other stuff."

"Other stuff?"

The slight rosy tint that began rising up in Kindaichi's cheeks was almost cute. Kunimi bit the inside of his cheek to try fighting the smile. Instead he turned it into a coy smirk. "Yuu, are you perhaps thinking some _dirty thoughts_?" He leaned closer and poked Kindaichi's side.

"What?! No! I mean, Not like _that_." Kindaichi was a poor liar. Kunimi started laughing despite the full face of blush that was taking over Kindaichi's complexion. "Akira--"

"I won't tell anyone." He smiled. " _I'm_ not a slut for gossip."

Kindaichi pouted slightly, annoyed at the situation but it was just another small thing Kunimi found adorable. Why was he finding all these things cute now? He sure as hell didn't know.

"Well it's like, if Kagey--I mean, other first years are presenting so early..." Kindaichi huffed, rubbing the back of his neck as they kept walking. "I wondered if I'd...be similar?"

Kunimi raised his eyebrows. Curious thought indeed. No-one had really suggested a reason for why so many first years that year were...developing quickly. Maybe it was something in the water. Maybe it had always been like this and no-one really warned them. Maybe thinking too much into it was trouble.

"And?" He asked. "If you are?"

Kindaichi didn't have an answer. He shrugged noncommittally. "That's it, I dunno how...what I'd do?"

"Then don't think about it." Kunimi scoffed, poking him again. "Getting worked up isn't gonna matter is it?"

"I guess?"

"It's like if you work yourself up too much for a game, you end up botching the first serve." He shrugged. God now he was talking in volleyball metaphors, fucking perfect. He cringed at himself which made Kindaichi laughed slightly, even more so when he facepalmed.

"I'm sure Oikawa would love to know you listen to his random speeches."

Kunimi scoffed, playfully punching his shoulder. "Shut up."

"Hey Akira..."

Kunimi looked to Kindaichi. There was still a rosy tint to his complexion as he halted. They paused on the sidewalk. Kunimi waited for Kindaichi to stop opening and closing his mouth like he wanted to say something but couldn't find the words.

"What is it?" He asked eventually.

"Uh, I know you don't really care, but..." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Which would you want to be?"

Kunimi wrinkled his nose. Kindaichi probably thought he was gonna be all defensive about it, but they weren't best friends all this time just for him to get cagey now.

"Whichever one requires least effort." He shrugged. "I don't have a preference."

"Wait you mean you're--"

"If my body suddenly decides it wants a dick, I'm not gonna be any position to well," he huffed, he could feel his cheeks heating up, Kindaichi's expression was one of awe and embarrassment and Kunimi wanted to laugh but he couldn't quite manage it. "Y’know. Whatever happens, happens."

That was the end of _that_ conversation. Kindaichi nodded sharply and started walking just a fraction quicker than before. Kunimi avoided looking at him, not out of disgust but for fear if he looked at Kindaichi's blushing face right now, he'd lose whatever sanity he had. There was no point getting worked up over something that was probably months away.

They reached the street corner and confirmed their meetup time, Kunimi found himself watching Kindaichi walk away again. The pang of loneliness was a little stronger that time. He ignored it.

* * *

When his phone started pinging at three am, he figured that Oikawa was trying to harass him about something he heard. He was not expecting odd questions from Kindaichi.

_'Do you ever think about what it’s like? Being...with an alpha?_ '

Kunimi rubbed his eyes. The glare of his phone screen felt far too harsh.

_'Not at 3am. Why.'_

He wasn't immune to insomnia, but he didn't feel the need to text other people at ungodly hours either. Kindaichi had always been a worrier, a restless sleeper. Every training camp it was an entire ordeal to make sure he was on the end of the row so the only person who'd be affected by his tossing and turning would be Kunimi. By this point, everyone else figured Kindaichi was just awkward at sleeping in school clubrooms. It was no surprise that this entire topic of conversation was bringing it out of him again.

_'I can't sleep. I just. I don't know if I'd be able to be...an omega? I don't want a dick up my ass.'_

Kunimi had to smother his face in his pillow to stop his laughter waking up his parents. Of course this would be a three am conversation. And of course this would be what Kindaichi is thinking about.

Wait, if he was thinking about it, then was he thinking about... _it_?

_'You'd wanna be the one giving? Nothing wrong with that.'_

Now Kunimi was curious. Not necessarily as curious as Oikawa, but curious. He and Kindaichi hadn't spoken about this kinda thing, both of them far too awkward to suggest they talk about jerking off to posters of idols or the one adult magazine that was stashed in the locker room. Now this topic had been brought up, he wanted to know more. Why this curiosity had surfaced now was something he didn't want to think too hard about.

_'You think so? What if I end up being an omega though??'_

Kunimi stifled a yawn. If they stayed up much longer, practice was gonna be hell on earth.

_'I'm sure the universe will be kind to you. Failing that, there's always drugs. ;)_

_Oi but seriously, I'm sure you'll be fine. Quit stressing, it's not like either of us are near that stage yet.'_

He didn't necessarily want to silence his phone, but he pulled his blankets around him a little tighter so he could fall back to sleep as quickly as possible once Kindaichi stopped replying. It felt like an eternity before the short reply came to him. He was on the verge of passing out when the screen lit up.

_'you're right. Thanks Akira. Sorry for waking you up with my dumb shit! :')'_

Kunimi snorted, barely able to keep his eyes open as he tapped a reply. He didn't really think about the words he was typing and he definitely didn't read it before he sent it.

_'It's fine Yuu. Go the fuck to sleep. Ily.'_

When he woke up the next morning and saw what he wrote, he was almost convinced he was dreaming. He didn't even realise he had the capacity to type 'ily' in his phone and it not autocorrect to something less mortifying.

The worst part was that Kindaichi hadn't replied.

Well fuck.

* * *

By the time he made it to the street corner, his mind had done several flips. From brushing it off as a simple typo to wondering if there was more to it than he realised. He wasn't sure how this was going to pan out. They hadn't really been the type of friends to get all sentimental, they just simply coexisted in each other's lives. He remembered a time when he wondered if Kindaichi was a long-lost brother or something with how easily they became friends. He didn't believe in fate, but if he did, he would almost be tempted to say they were destined to be in each other's lives.

In what capacity though, that was a question he wasn't sure he wanted to answer. The deafening silence on his phone unnerved him. He cursed himself for not enabling send receipts. He couldn't even be sure that Kindaichi _read the damn thing_.

As he sighted Kindaichi making his way towards the street corner, he jammed his hands in the pockets of his jacket. He tried to seem calm and collected, almost borderline bored. This was fine. He was fine. Nothing about this was going to get weird.

"Hey." Kindaichi greeted with a smile. Was his smile always so adorable? Kunimi mentally slapped himself. "Sorry about waking you up--"

"It's fine." Kunimi replied, balling his hands into fists in his pockets. "Let's go."

If Kindaichi was concerned, he didn't voice it. They walked in silence for most of the way to school. Kunimi was lucky that he was known for not being one for conversation so early in the day otherwise it might've felt awkward. He wasn't even sure why he was so caught up on it. If asked he could say it was just a typo, that he had been half asleep and it didn't mean...

Well. _That_ was the problem. These weird thoughts and strange pangs of loneliness. This sort of typo wasn't even in the bounds of normal. Mixing up letters in words was normal, accidentally telling someone to _duck_ off instead of _fuck_ off was normal.

Writing I love you, even in an abbreviated form, wasn't normal. The last time he sent anyone a message like that was probably his grandma at Christmas thanking her for the oversized sweater. So why the hell had his sleep-deprived body thought it was _possibly_ a good idea to write that to his best friend?

"Akira?" Kindaichi's voice broke through his chaotic thoughts.

"Huh?"

They were nearing the school gates, students were all around them making the same journey. None close enough to really hear their conversation but it was a little too busy for his liking. He hadn't realised he was lost in his thoughts for so long.

"You were scowling." Kindaichi chuckled, nudging his side. "Something on your mind?"

"No." He shrugged, "just kinda tired."

"I'm sorry."

"Quit apologising." Kunimi sighed, rolling his eyes. "You have nothing to be sorry for."

Whether Kindaichi believed it or not, he dropped the topic. By the time the bell for first period sounded, Kunimi had largely shaken off the confusing thoughts in his head and was focused on getting through the day's lessons. He didn't need to think about it. He actually forgot about it for a while as they ate lunch with Yahaba and Watari. Maybe it had all been a dream.

It was during their fifth-period history class that his mind started wandering again. Practice wasn't far away, he could focus on something other than the piles of homework that would be waiting for him when he got home. Of course there was also this nagging feeling that it was going to be exhausting as per usual. Now that Kyoutani was back, practice was a never-ending cycle of Yahaba and Iwaizumi yelling at Kyoutani, Oikawa almost needlessly provoking him and the rest of the team wishing they were anywhere else.

Kyoutani was a wild player, Kunimi wasn't sure why the hell he was back in all honesty. Apparently Oikawa thought he'd be crucial to them beating Karasuno and then Shiratorizawa. Maybe Oikawa wasn't just obsessed with everyone else's gossip after all.

Then he had a chilling thought. Whilst he could brush off his sour mood as tiredness to Kindaichi, brushing it off to Oikawa would certainly be harder. Oikawa could read him like a book. That was just a fact that came with the years they had known each other. He realised that maybe, just maybe, Oikawa would figure it out if he slipped up enough.

In a dull moment of class, he checked his phone. There was still no reply from Kindaichi. No confirmation that he had read it. No denial either.

The entire situation annoyed him because he hated overthinking things. He hated exerting himself unnecessarily. Whilst physically this wasn't a big deal, mentally it was. And if he started getting distracted in practice, God have mercy on his soul. Someone was going to eat him alive.

By the time practice rolled around, he was almost too eager to get there. Kindaichi gave him an amused look as he didn't drag his feet like usual.

"Excited for practice?" Kindaichi asked as they made the journey towards the locker room. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Kunimi tried to glare at him for suggesting there was something wrong. In reality he took one look at Kindaichi and as soon as he saw the side-smile, his irritation melted. This was not good.

"I'm fine."

"I think you’re lying." Kindaichi stated smugly. "What's up?"

Kunimi pouted. Damn Kindaichi for being able to tell these things. "Eh, just the conversation this morning." He couldn't stop the words leaving his mouth. "About the alignments."

Kindaichi's smile faded slightly but he wasn't panicking, at least not that Kunimi could tell. "Oh, oh that. Yeah..." he scratched his head. "I mean, sorry--"

"I told you to quit apologising!" Kunimi let out an exasperated sigh.

"But I feel responsible!"

They had reached the door to the locker room but weren't stepping in just yet, this conversation apparently needed to happen now.

"I'm your best friend, if I don't pick up your three am texts about shit that's bothering you, what kind of friend does that make me?"

"One who puts his wellbeing first?" Kindaichi shrugged, clearly not as wound up about it as Kunimi was.

"I told you Yuutarou. It's fine. I don't mind that you woke me up." He tried to smile in a reassuring manner but he was fairly sure it didn't come off quite as endearing as he hoped. "You could've at least text me back."

Why the _fuck_ did he say that?

_Why did he say that?_

He inhaled sharply as realisation dawned. Kindaichi's dumbfounded expression did little to ease the situation.

"Forget I said anything." He hastily added, pulling the locker room door open and slipping inside.

Never in his wildest dreams - or nightmares - did he think he'd be _happy_ to see Yahaba there. If Yahaba was there, that meant all conversation about alignments and feelings that went with them was effectively banned. Of course the third years paid no mind to such things, but Kunimi didn't wanna get on his future captain's bad side.

"Hey." He managed to greet Yahaba in a normal tone.

"Hey," Yahaba replied, looking over his shoulder, brows furrowing in thought, "Kindaichi not with you?"

"He's...on his way." Kunimi shrugged, already trying to erase the conversation from his mind. He was just in denial that this day was spiralling into madness. This all had to be a bad dream.

Yahaba gave him a puzzled look. "Huh. Don't you share the same classes?"

"And?"

"...whatever." Yahaba went back to getting changed. "If you've had some sort of argument over dumb shit-"

"We haven't." Kunimi opened his locker. "Not an argument."

He was really not doing well at keeping his mouth shut today. The remark got another puzzled look from Yahaba before a heavy sigh. He ignored the sound of the door opening, loud voices of the third years filtered through along with Oikawa loudly asking Kindaichi why he looked like he'd seen a ghost. Kunimi focused on pulling his practice kit on and refused to look over his shoulder.

This practice was going to be hell and Oikawa hadn't even spoken to him yet.

He didn't drag his feet, quickly getting changed and heading straight into the gym with Yahaba before he could get dragged into a conversation with Oikawa. Or rather, Oikawa interrogating him. Yahaba didn't bother questioning his uncharacteristic eagerness to start their warmup stretches before their coaches arrived. Questioning would mean he'd have to listen, and that wasn't his idea of fun.

In the airy gym, Kunimi felt a little more relaxed. He was almost done convincing himself that the conversation never happened and he was in a parallel universe when he felt a tap on his shoulder.

Oikawa gave him a sweet smile. That was _never_ a good sign. He glanced around to see Iwaizumi was nowhere to be found, neither Hanamaki nor Matsukawa were flanking their captain. Nope. Kunimi was about to be interrogated. He should've known better than to try and escape.

"Say Akira-chan," Tooru's light voice did little to make him believe he was safe, "why don't I help you with your stretches?"

It wasn't really a question. Kunimi glanced around again, the only one close enough was Yahaba and he was shaking his head already.

"Sure." He shrugged. Just play it cool and maybe he’ll survive this.

Oikawa gave him a pat on the back, well it was more like a smack but Kunimi was used to the heavy-handedness by now. They ran through most of the stretches quickly without a word being uttered between them. It was when Kunimi was sat on the floor leaning forward to try and touch his toes that Oikawa finally said something.

"You seem quiet today Akira-chan." He remarked, pressing hands lightly on Kunimi's upper back.

"Do I?" He replied, already feeling the gentle burn of his thighs stretching.

"Mhm. Iwa-chan noticed you and Kindaichi didn't arrive together."

Kunimi inhaled a little too sharply as the pressure on his back lessened enough for him to relax. "I just got a head start, that's all."

"Ooh? Since when did you two race each other to practice?"

Kunimi snorted, leaning forward again. Oikawa's hands pushed a little harder. "We don't. I just happened to be faster at getting here."

"I think you're misunderstanding Akira-chan." Oikawa's voice lowered a little. "You've been different recently."

"Uh-huh." Kunimi didn't like where this was going but there wasn't a lot he could do about it. He relaxed again, taking a moment to let his thighs stop aching. He could feel the rest of the team watching this conversation, though not able to hear it. He dared not to look up in case he caught Kindaichi's gaze. "What do you mean?"

_Why did he ask that?_

Oikawa remained quiet for a few moments, it wasn't until he resumed stretching that he spoke. "Well, I've heard that you've been distracted lately. That since we heard about our dear Tobio-chan, you've been different."

Kunimi wanted to know who this person gossiping was. Then again, for all he knew Oikawa could just tell. Reading people was Oikawa's specialty. He wondered if Kindaichi had already been through this conversation with him.

"So?" He grunted, relaxing once more. "I don't give a fuck about Kageyama."

"I never said you did." Oikawa murmured, a lot closer to his ear now than Kunimi was comfortable with. "But you do give a fuck about other people, _certain_ people."

How the ever-living fuck did Oikawa know. There was no way that was a guess. He tensed up, which in hindsight was a giveaway sign that Oikawa was right. He swallowed, unable to reply.

"Akira-chan~" Oikawa hummed, hands moving to his shoulders and giving a very lazy massage. "It's normal to be confused. You'll figure it out soon, what you want and who you like."

He got the idea that Oikawa thought he was hung up on alignments. Which was laughable considering he was the more laid back one of the two first years. He snorted.

"I'm fine about that." He remarked, stretching long abandoned now. "But thanks for the concern captain."

Oikawa hummed. "Then why are you giving Yuu-chan the cold shoulder?"

"I'm not."

He slammed his mouth shut, that was far too quick a response. Oikawa's hands rested on his shoulders, squeezing ever so slightly.

"If you say so~"

All at once, Oikawa's hands were gone. He was gone. Kunimi remained sat on the floor for a few moments trying to wrap his head around what Oikawa's goal in all of that was. By the time he stood up, their coaches had arrived and were giving out instructions. He fell in line with the rest of the team and ignored the weird feeling in the pit of his stomach. He also ignored the way Oikawa kept glancing his way almost expecting him to snap under the pressure.

Oikawa needed to remember who his kouhai was.

The rest of practice flew by in its usual hectic manner. Spiking drills, serving practice, blocking and even a few practice rallies. It was all the usual stuff that didn't require him to do too much. Oikawa gave him perfect tosses, Yahaba actively tried to fuck with him a few times by sending him dummy signals. Kunimi didn't hold it against him though, he saw it as a mere test of his patience.

As much as practice wasn't _exhausting_ , he was still dealing with the early wake up call. He felt more drained than usual as they took a break towards the final half an hour. He didn't quite expect Iwaizumi to approach him and shove a fresh towel at him.

"You're sweating more than usual." He stated. "You're not sick, are you?"

If Oikawa could read players like they were open books, Iwaizumi could spot potential health issues like a hawk. It came with the reoccurring knee injury of Oikawa's but it expanded to the entire team as a whole. Kunimi felt less interrogated by Iwaizumi though, and if his guard was going to fall down around anyone, it was going to be him.

"Just tired. Got woken up at three."

Iwaizumi quirked an eyebrow. "Everything okay?

Kunimi wiped his neck with the towel. "More or less." He lied.

"That's not an answer." Iwaizumi huffed, smiling slightly. "Trust me, that's the kind of answer Tooru gives when he doesn't wanna fess up."

"Darn." Kunimi rolled his eyes. "Seriously, I'm fine. Nothing is wrong."

Iwaizumi nodded slowly. "Alright. Make sure you stay hydrated then."

And he was gone. Kunimi sighed heavily, taking up the advice and picking up his water bottle. The current blocking practice was being dominated by Kyoutani working out his aggression and Oikawa just egging him on. Matsukawa and Kindaichi were taking the brunt of the spikes with Watari taking up the backline. As he watched Kyoutani smack the ball into the block once more, he actively winced. Kyoutani was no Ushijima, but he could pack a mean hit.

He gaze wandered a little bit, watching the blockers fine tune their jumps with every spike. Watching Kindaichi specifically. He hadn't really studied the other's playstyle much recently, not now they had upperclassmen and coaches to help them refine their skills. Back when they were younger, they had been eager to improve themselves so Kunimi's dad recorded their matches and they'd spend hours watching them to pick out ways to get better.

That had all stopped when the well-known rift in the team started. And since then he just loosely acknowledged how Kindaichi played, how Seijoh as a team played. Now he was watching from the sidelines, he could see how much Kindaichi had actually grown, how he barely had to jump sometimes to get the lower centred spikes. It was impressive. He could hold his own against spikers like Kyoutani and Iwaizumi.

"Oi Kunimi!" Yahaba called. "Get over here and do some spiking."

"Yeah, coming." He replied with as much gusto as he could be bothered. His fatigue was starting to show now as he didn't exactly sprint to join the group.

"Alright, Kunimi's up first." Iwaizumi declared, more to Oikawa who was setting than to Kunimi himself.

He inhaled deeply before nodding. The ball was thrown in Oikawa's direction as he started his run up. It was over in a matter of two seconds, the ball smacking into the block at speed and hitting the floor. He gave an indifferent shrug at the result. This process repeated several times, each time the ball was blocked he felt a slight tinge of irritation. He knew this was blocking practice, but did they have to be _that_ good?

When they started sending two spikers up, that's when he started to get into it more. Oikawa would vary the tosses, never calling out who was actually going to get it until he had already sent the ball their way. It was a test of reflexes and trust as well as blocking. He found himself spiking nothing on multiple occasions. He felt slightly cheated a lot of the time when it wasn't his turn.

He was getting that itch that he did in the closing minutes of play. He wanted to score. There was a tightness in his chest as he ran again and jumped. The ball sailed past him and straight into Kyoutani's range. He heard the smack of the ball hitting the floor on the far side of the court. He glanced at Oikawa, or rather, _glared_ at Oikawa.

And that was what Oikawa had been waiting for. He smiled sweetly at Kunimi. "Something wrong?"

Kunimi considered lying again, but figured he might as well say it; "Toss to me next time?"

There was a hush over the team. Only one person could _demand_ a toss and it sure as hell wasn't him. Oikawa gave him a smug smile. "Sure thing Akira-chan~"

Thinking he _may_ have survived instant death, Kunimi held his relief short of being expressed. Several more spikers went up before the rotation came around again. He cracked his knuckles as he waited. He was going to score. Kyoutani glared at him, though not out of contempt, at least he liked to think that. The whistle sounded, Kunimi ran up and jumped. Just as Oikawa promised, the ball arrived at the perfect angle and he spiked it.

He spiked it right into Kindaichi's face.

Because of course his day couldn't get any fucking better.

He wasn't even sure how managed to angle the ball like that but that was beside the point as Kindaichi fell backwards with the impact. When the immediate shock of the hit had subsided, he sat up and looked around in a daze. Kunimi had frozen where he landed, unsure how he was supposed to react as both Matsukawa and Iwaizumi rushed to Kindaichi's side to see if he was in poor shape. There was a hushed conversation before Kindaichi stood up with only some slight help from Iwaizumi. He had a huge red mark on his forehead but nothing worse than that.

Kunimi was still rooted to the spot, even as Yahaba came over and nudged him. "You good?"

"Uh, yeah." Kunimi lied. He hadn't felt guilty in a while. Accidents happened sure, but with the current climate between him and Kindaichi, this felt worse. "I just...need some water."

He stalked away, making a beeline for the bench with all the towels and water bottles. Mizoguchi was already giving him a scowl for his actions. It wasn't like he intended to smack his best friend in the face. Practice was effectively ended after that, Kindaichi was whisked away by Mizoguchi to see the nurse so at least Kunimi could spare a few minutes to figure out what the fuck he was going to do now.

After being dismissed, most of the team made their way to the showers and were at least somewhat considerate enough to leave him alone. But of course, Oikawa wasn't one of them.

"Kunimi." He stated, his authoritative captain's tone sparked the fear of death into him. He exhaled as he turned on his heel and met Oikawa's gaze.

"Yes captain?"

Oikawa had his hands on his hips and was giving Kunimi a neutral look. "What happened?"

Kunimi shrugged. "I...spiked the ball?"

Oikawa shook his head. "Didn't you even aim your hit?"

Kunimi honestly didn't remember anything past the ball arriving at his fingertips. "I guess not."

His blasé nature was going to get him killed one day, if not by their coaches it would be by his team. He had narrowly avoided death in middle school with the same attitude, now he was just stubborn about it. Oikawa knew this all too well.

"Y'know, when you accidentally injure your teammate, you're supposed to give a damn." Oikawa remarked. "You just froze like a deer in the headlights."

"Well _yeah_." He snapped. "I didn't exactly set out to do that."

"I did say 'accidentally' for a reason."

Kunimi sighed, rolling his eyes. Both actions were sure fire ways to get Oikawa mad.

"Hey, drop the attitude. You're acting like an alpha in rut." He stated.

Kunimi snorted. "Uh huh. No I assure you, there's nothing like that here."

Oikawa gave him a long hard look. Kunimi felt the scrutinising gaze again. What was Oikawa even trying to prove at this point? He already felt bad enough about the accident, he didn't need someone trying to read into it. He was already dreading confronting Kindaichi.

"The longer you lie to yourself Kunimi, the worse it'll be in the end." He said. "My advice? Drop the attitude and confront whatever the hell is going on between you two."

"Since when was any of it your business?"

"Oh? So there _is_ something." The sly smirk on Oikawa's face made Kunimi regret opening his mouth. "That's why you're so cagey today."

"What's it to you?"

"To me? Well, I'm your captain." Oikawa stated smugly. "And I know you better than you think. And I noticed that when you heard about Tobio-chan, your attitude shifted."

"Big fucking deal." Kunimi was tired of Kageyama coming up in conversation. "So what?"

"You're jealous."

Now _that_ was absurd. He was not jealous of Kageyama. No what had actually happened was that hearing that other first years were presenting had lit a curiosity in him. And Kindaichi had made it worse by talking about it. And now he was starting to see his best friend in a different light and he didn't know how to feel about any of it.

And _then_ he told Kindaichi via text of all things that he loved him.

"I'm not jealous." He uttered. "But like fuck are you gonna believe me."

"Try me."

Kunimi was caught in one of Oikawa's webs of interrogation. He was right where his captain wanted him; about to spill all his thoughts. The universe seemed to take pity on him as the door to the locker room burst open and Iwaizumi started yelling at Oikawa to hurry up.

"I guess this'll have to wait." Kunimi remarked, already beginning to walk away. "I need to go and check on Kindaichi. See you later captain."

He left Oikawa to stew over his response, pushing past Iwaizumi and forgoing his shower in favour of collecting his things. No-one said a word to him as he collected Kindaichi's stuff and left before Oikawa could catch up.

The nurse's office wasn't far from the gym, though he could've done without encountering Mizoguchi outside the office door. He summoned what little willpower he had to bow and apologise for his actions and assure him there was no malice behind his actions. His coach nodded, though there was no patting on the back and reassurance, just a 'don't do it again'. All things considered, he got off lightly.

The door opened a short while later, Kindaichi still had a large red mark on his head but there wasn't any swelling to speak of. The nurse told Mizoguchi that he would be fine after some bed rest and that was good enough for their coach to leave them be. Kindaichi met Kunimi's gaze, a nervous smile on his face.

"I brought your stuff." Kunimi said, holding out the two bags.

"And you didn't shower at least?" Kindaichi remarked as he accepted his belongings.

Kunimi shrugged. "Just wanted to get out of there to be honest." He averted his gaze. "Shall we go then?"

He was thankful for the silence between them as they left the school grounds together. No-one from the team seemed bothered enough to stalk them, a small mercy really after the way he spoke to Oikawa. As they got further away from school the silence got more unbearable.

"I'm sorry." He blurted out.

"Eh?"

"I'm sorry for..." He trailed off. There were a lot of things really, sorry for the weird way he had been acting, sorry for spiking a ball into Kindaichi's face, sorry for sending that weird reply. "y'know."

Kindaichi chuckled. "No, I really don't."

Kunimi glanced at him, the soft smile that made his chest tighten was back. "Well, spiking a ball into your face for a start-"

"Eh happens all the time." Kindaichi shrugged. "Remember that time that Yahaba received a ball to the face from Iwaizumi?"

Okay that was an amusing memory. It hadn't been long into their time at Seijoh and Iwaizumi had been making a point to the rookies that he was the ace. Yahaba had simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"I mean, sure." Kunimi sheepishly smiled. "But still, had to hurt."

"Worst case scenario, it'll bruise. It's not a big deal, really Akira."

They fell back into silence. Kunimi wasn't sure what to say anymore. Bringing up the text seemed so trivial now. He felt like an idiot for letting it get under his skin. He was supposed to be able to talk about anything with Kindaichi, nothing was too stupid or mundane. Yet this just felt too personal, like mentioning it would threaten the friendship they had.

"Oi," Kindaichi poked his cheek, "stop scowling."

Kunimi pouted in return, making Kindaichi laugh. "I'll do what I like."

"There's the Akira I know. Stubborn as shit."

"Excuse me, but I resent that," he feigned offence, "it's called 'determined'."

Kindaichi laughed louder. "Don't ever change." He sighed, smiling at Kunimi fondly. Kunimi smiled back, even if he felt his cheeks burning. The weight on his shoulders felt like it had lifted a little. As they reached the street corner Kunimi already felt the pang of loneliness rising once more.

"So, usual time tomorrow?"

He nodded. "Yeah." He was going to leave it at that, but he just had to have the last word. "Don't wake me up at three am this time yeah?"

There was a brief pause. Kindaichi visibly swallowed as a rosy tint began rising in his cheeks. Kunimi wasn't sure if he hated himself for saying it or not. He didn't make a move to leave, waiting for Kindaichi to give some indication he knew what he was referring to.

"Haha," Kindaichi nervously laughed, "I...I'll try not to."

Kunimi nodded. "Cool Well, see ya." He briskly turned and didn't look back as he started walking.

That didn't go as well as he hoped. Honestly, he wasn't sure how he wanted it to go. Then again, the fact he thought it didn't, meant he wanted a different reaction. Did he want Kindaichi to flat out reject him? Did he want the opposite?

His body felt weird. A tightness had started in his chest, a sick feeling of guilt and something else was twisting in his stomach. He made it home in time to collapse on his bed in a state of exhaustion. As tears spilt from his eyes, he realised that this went deeper than he thought. Maybe he was just overemotional, maybe he was overtired. Maybe he had been denying things.

He rolled over onto his stomach and buried his face in his pillow. He was still in his practice kit but taking a shower was the last thing on his mind right now. He just wanted to sleep and not wake up for several days.

* * *

_'Hey...are you mad at me? I'm serious when I say that I'm not mad at the spiking thing.'_

_'Akira, about the not replying to your text thing, I'm sorry. I didn't know how to react. It was 3am and you just...you never say things like that, not even like a joke. I figured it was a typo or something. I'm sorry.'_

_'Can you at least text me back so I know you're okay?'_

* * *

It was dark when his phone started buzzing. He had passed out not long after rolling over. The white glow of his phone illuminated his room enough for him to haphazardly pick it up and press it to his ear.

"Yeah?"

_"Why did I just have Yuutarou on the phone for an hour babbling about how he fucked everything up?"_ Iwaizumi sounded pissed.

Kunimi squinted in the gloom. "Wha?"

" _You heard me Akira. Explain now._ "

"Uhhh...I mean, I dunno what he's talking about."

" _He sent you three texts and you ignored all of them?_ "

Pulling his phone away from his ear, he saw the notifications. Well shit. It was nearly eleven at night and all those texts came in at eight. No wonder Kindaichi had gone to Iwaizumi.

"Uh. I fell asleep."

There was a scoff. He could imagine Iwaizumi facepalming. " _W_ _ell could you maybe reply? He's all sorts of torn up about something that was said. He was babbling for a while about Kageyama and how you had been acting weird ever since that all came out._ "

Kunimi cussed under his breath. "Sure. Sorry for causing trouble."

_"Oh don't apologise to me, apologise to Yuutarou. And if you know what's good for you, you'll make up before practice tomorrow. Otherwise Tooru is gonna kick your ass and I'm not gonna stop him."_

In many ways, that was the ultimate threat. Kunimi sighed and reassured Iwaizumi that he'd sort it all out. The call went dead. He read through the texts that had piled up. There was no confession or rejection in there, just admittance that Kindaichi hadn't known how to react. He tapped through menu screens and hovered over the call button.

He didn't even know what he was going to say. Nevertheless, he hit call and pressed the phone to his ear. The dial tone sounded far too loud, not loud enough to drown out his racing heart. He swallowed as he almost wished that Kindaichi was asleep already.

" _H-Hello?_ "

His throat was dry as he replied. "Hey. Uh, sorry about...I fell asleep."

There was a weak laugh. " _You did seem tired._ "

He ran his tongue over his cracked bottom lip. He wished he had taken the time to grab a drink first. "I uhm, I just..." he sighed at himself. This wasn't getting them anywhere. "I dunno what I want you to say. I didn't mean to send that text...well, end it like I did--"

" _Why?_ "

That was unexpected. "Well, we're...I haven't..." Come to think of it, Iwaizumi said that Kindaichi babbled about how he 'fucked everything up'. That meant he was loosely aware of something. "It's a recent thing." He closed his eyes. "I didn't really think about it."

" _Think about what?_ "

To hell with it. He couldn't play word games like Oikawa. He liked being blunt and to the point. Why should this be any different? He owed it to Kindaichi to just be honest about it and deal with whatever happened.

"You. A-And me." He was screaming inside his mind. In the space of a week he had fully descended into a level of awkwardness with his only best friend. All because Oikawa was a slut for gossip. Fucking perfect.

The silence was broken by a shaky sigh. " _Y-Yeah? I uh...I've thought about it a bit._ "

A bit? What the fuck did that mean? Kunimi’s eyes flew open. "Huh?"

" _When I started thinking about alignments. I uh, like,_ " there was an audible swallow. " _Akira...I don't know what's gonna happen but can we...if it works out that way at least like-_ "

"Just say it." Kunimi whispered. The tension was killing him just a bit but he didn't want to cut in.

Another shaky sigh. " _If we can, can we be...each other's first?_ "

Of all the things he expected to hear, this was not it. He expected Kindaichi to find it weird, not be totally on-board and willing. They had completely skipped half a dozen steps of awkward confessing and just jumped straight to third base apparently.

"I mean we don't have to wait for...alignments."

Another pause. He pinched the bridge of his nose. This was a fucking weird conversation and he wanted to die.

" _I guess we don't..._ "

"But we can. If you want." Kunimi was quick to add. "I-I don't...this is all far too weird. In a good way, but it's _weird_."

Kindaichi laughed, the tightness in Kunimi's chest eased. " _It's weird yeah. But I like it. I like you._ "

Hearing it from Kindaichi's lips had a bizarre effect on Kunimi. There was a squeak, almost like he had been poked in the side by surprise. He slapped his hand over his mouth as another loud laugh came through the phone at him.

" _You okay over there?_ "

Kunimi coyly smiled against his hand, slowly removing it and placing his hand over his racing heart. "Nah, I think I'm dead, need you to come and give me cpr."

" _I would if I could_."

That softness to Kindaichi's voice practically made him melt. If he could see himself, he reckoned he was red in the face and had a stupid smile going on. This was utterly ridiculous, but he didn't care anymore.

"I need to go eat, and shower. I've been asleep for like five hours."

" _I'll speak to you tomorrow then._ "

"Yeah." There was a pause, Kunimi felt like there should be something else. "Hey Yuutarou?"

" _Yeah?_ "

"...I like you too. N-Now go the fuck to sleep."

Kindaichi laughed a little softer this time. " _Goodnight Akira._ "

As the call went dead, Kunimi smiled to himself. This had been the weirdest fucking week of his life and he got the feeling it wasn't going to stop there.


	2. Chapter 2

Meeting up at the street corner as they always did felt slightly different. Kunimi could feel that he was blushing just at seeing Kindaichi smile at him. This was going to be a long day. It wasn't that he didn't want to feel all weirdly happy inside, but it was such a bizarre change from his usual too-tired-to-care attitude.

"Morning." Kindaichi nodded.

"Sup." Kunimi tried to hide his smile but Kindaichi wasn't helping matters by reaching up and poking his cheek. "Hey quit it."

"Just making sure you smiling so early in the day wasn't a figment of my imagination."

"Ha. Ha. You're _hilarious_."

"I try to be." Kindaichi proudly smiled and honestly Kunimi wasn't going to disagree. "Shall we get going?"

Kunimi started walking, letting Kindaichi fall in step with him. The entire walk towards school was spent exchanging quick glances and smiles. He figured if he got it out of his system now, he could resume his usual poker-face by practice. Of course that was providing that the universe didn't work against him.

"So, it's Friday." Kindaichi stated as they caught sight of the school gates.

"Yes it is." Kunimi waited for the next part of his profound statement.

Kindaichi looked at him, faint blush rising in his face. "I uh, did you wanna...spend the night at mine?"

Considering he did that on a semi-regular basis anyway, Kunimi almost wasn't sure why Kindaichi felt the need to ask. The blush on his cheeks gave it away that maybe it wasn't just because it's what they did normally.

"Sure." He shrugged, trying to remain nonchalant about it. "I'll text home later so my mom doesn't worry. She might offer to pay for pizza."

Kindaichi sighed, almost in relief it seemed. "Yeah that'd be great!"

Kunimi gave him a coy smile, deciding against exposing that he thought the timing of it was a little too convenient. By the time they got into class in time for homeroom, Kunimi was almost back to what he'd call 'normal'. There was still a lingering fluttering in his chest whenever he glanced across the room at Kindaichi but the dullness of class soon got him to focus for a little while.

It wasn't like anything dramatic had happened anyway. If anything he was more at peace now, they had finally said it all. He could resume his mundane day-to-day activities without being paranoid.

The day passed slowly, almost too slowly. He was yawning by the time lunchtime rolled around. Yahaba gave him an unimpressed look across the table but didn't start lecturing him right away. Not that Kunimi particularly cared, he was more interested in why his chest felt tight again. It wasn't stress, at least not this time, and it didn't feel like heartburn. It almost sort of ached.

"Eh? An aching?" Watari repeated back to him. He had waited until Yahaba had gone at least, he didn't really want to say anything about it but Watari was a little more keen-eyed than most. Kindaichi had excused himself from the table already so it was just him and his team’s libero.

"Yeah, it's kinda like..." he rubbed his chest, "like I’ve been punched? I guess?"

Watari's brow furrowed. "Weird. Not like anything I've had. Maybe go see the nurse if it's still there before practice?"

He didn't think it was that bad. He shrugged. "I'm sure it's fine."

"It probably is, but if you get knocked around in practice you might make it worse." Watari returned his shrug with his own. "And Mizoguchi is already annoyed at you for yesterday so I wouldn't test him."

Kunimi groaned, he had almost forgotten about that. It also reminded him of how he spoke to Oikawa _and_ how Iwaizumi yelled at him over the phone. His previously calm mood was sinking into dread. Watari chuckled, playfully punching his arm across the table.

"You'll be fine. Just shoot me a text if you do go to the nurse and I'll pass it on for you."

"Thanks Watari-senpai." He groaned, head now on the table as he processed how much shit he was in.

He gathered himself together in time for the bell to ring. He made no extra effort to race back to class, still managing to arrive before their teacher. Kindaichi shot him a somewhat confused look but Kunimi waved off his concern. That was a conversation for later.

Throughout the afternoon he went from dreading practice to wanting it done and over with. He debated skipping entirely, telling Watari he was going to the nurse and then just...not. Then he remembered he agreed to go to Kindaichi's so he ought to stick around and leave with him rather than go sit on his doorstep. And of course, going home wasn't really an option, his dad would kill him for skipping practice again, and that was if Mizoguchi didn't send Oikawa to murder him first.

Nope. He was stuck. And the pain in his chest kept coming and going like the tide on a beach. Sometimes he would wonder if he was about to pass out, other times it was barely a tingle. He didn't like it, but he didn't want to make a fuss over it. Making a fuss over it drew attention to him and he wanted none of that.

As their last lesson ended, he let out a heavy sigh. Placing his hand over his chest, he could feel his heart racing. There was a woozy sensation slowly creeping over him as Kindaichi came over to his desk with a slight frown on his face.

"Are you okay?"

Kunimi swallowed, resting his head on his desk. "Not...really."

"What is it?" Kindaichi crouched down. "Akira?"

"My chest feels all weird, like, I don't fucking know-"

A hand on his back surprised him, he tensed up which didn't really help his chest at all. He grabbed his phone and shoved it at Kindaichi.

"Call Watari."

"Watari?"

"Yes that's what I said." He hissed through gritted teeth.

Kindaichi didn't argue. He tapped through the contacts until he found their upperclassman's number. Kunimi tried to keep his breathing steady as Kindaichi's hand remained resting on his upper back. He was vaguely aware of the one-sided conversation before his phone was set back on his desk.

"He's on his way."

"Thank you." He murmured. He could hear a few of their classmates lingering in the room, this wasn't his idea of fun and Kindaichi didn't really seem to notice the audience they had. Mercifully, Watari arrived quickly and just the presence of an older student seemed to convince their classmates to go away.

"Hey." Watari greeted. "You got worse I take it?"

Kunimi groaned. "What the fuck's happening?"

Watari didn't audibly reply, Kunimi didn't want to raise his head from his desk but he gathered there was a conversation occurring in facial expressions.

"Alright, it's okay." Watari's tone was quiet, calm, soothing. "Akira, I'm sending Kindaichi to practice. I'll take you to the nurse."

Kunimi wasn't gonna start questioning the other. He was thankful Watari seemed to understand what was happening, even if he didn't. Kindaichi's hand left his back, he felt that same pang of loneliness from before. Only after he heard Kindaichi mumble a 'see you later', did Watari crouch down to his level.

"Listen to me carefully." He spoke in the same calm tone. "I think these chest pains are the early signs of you presenting."

Kunimi’s head shot up, instantly regretting it as the room spun. Watari set a hand on his shoulder. "Fuck sake..."

There was a wry smile from Watari. "It's okay. I know it's scary, but that's why I'm gonna get you to the nurse m'kay?"

"How do you know?"

Watari's wry smile didn't fade. "I watched Yahaba go through the same thing three months ago. You're gonna be fine. But you're definitely not going to practice like this."

"Gee what a shame."

A chuckle left the other as he stood up. Slowly, Kunimi managed to collect his stuff and stand up. He felt woozier now, like he was walking through jello. Watari didn't leave his side, nor did he wrap an arm around him. But he was a reassuring presence nonetheless and for that, Kunimi was thankful. It felt like a long walk to the nurse's office, long and agonising as he kept feeling curious glances on him. Watari shot a few glares at some people when he deemed it necessary.

Watari knocked on the door for him, offering a reassuring smile as they waited for the door to open. He loosely explained the situation to the school nurse who ushered Kunimi in. Watari excused himself, saying he needed to inform their coaches of this development.

"Take it easy okay?" He told Kunimi.

"Sure, thanks again Watari-senpai."

Kunimi resigned himself to this situation, complying with the nurse's request to sit on the closest bed and take his blazer and shirt off. He didn't feel much worse, the chest pains were still coming and going. He answered all her questions as she took notes and observed his body. She listened to his breathing and checked his heartrate, took his temperature and asked if he had been injured in practice recently.

He was past feeling embarrassed, now he just wanted her to tell him what to do about it.

"Well, you're not quite there yet." She concluded, looking at her notes. "But your friend was right, you are in the starting stages."

"Great?" He huffed, pulling his shirt back on. "So what do I do?"

"I can give you some suppressants for today and tomorrow. But all those will do is slow it down enough for you to prepare for the peak."

That didn't sound foreboding whatsoever. "...so what...am I?"

She gave him a curious glance. "I can't tell right now. Your starting symptoms are not exclusive to any alignment. You could be either of them. You won't know until later stages."

She then went into graphic detail about what these later stages were and he hadn't felt so mortified in a while. She didn't seem fazed, then again this was her job and who knew how many others she had gone through all this with before.

"So, my advice to you Kunimi-san is to go home and rest this weekend. If needs be, take Monday off for your own wellbeing. I'll provide a note for your parents and inform your teachers on your behalf."

"And my volleyball coaches?"

Something seemed to occur to her when he said that. "Wasn't one of your teammates here yesterday?"

"Y-Yes." He ducked his head. "I accidentally spiked a ball in his face."

She smiled. "I see. And your chest pains started...after that?"

He wasn't seeing the connection but he nodded. "Today actually."

She wrote something down in her notes. "Very well. I'll get you those suppressants."

He was left to continue redressing himself and wait for her to return with a small paper bag containing the pills at the very least and several other things he couldn't see or figure out what they were. She detailed how many of the nondescript pills he had to take and possible side effects to be wary of. She then handed him two notes, one for his parents and one for his coaches.

"I assumed you'd be heading straight there." She gave him a knowing smile.

He nodded dumbly. He didn't want to have this conversation with Mizoguchi or Irihata. He didn't want to walk into that gym like this. The thought of his made him tense up a little.

"Right. Thankyou." He stood up and bowed.

"Be careful."

He nodded, bowing again as he left. He was curious at what else was in the bag but shoved it into his school bag for now. He had to deal with his coaches first. He had to deal with telling Kindaichi all of this. God the universe hated him. Walking alone to the gym gave him some time to come to terms with it all, at least enough to not be a trembling wreck about it.

He wondered if this had been brought on by the stress he put himself under. Such a thought was brushed away as he came up to the door to the gym. He could hear the shrill of the whistle sounding off, he figured they were doing drills of sorts given how frequent they were. He hoped that meant Mizoguchi was leading practice and Irihata could take a bit more pity on him.

With a sharp inhale, he opened the door. The smell of sweat greeted him, making him grimace. The sound of the door opening attracted the attention of some of them but the majority were too wrapped up in the serving practice to glance his way. He didn't look any of them in the eye as he calmly but with a certain air of impatience, made his way towards Irihata who was sat on the sidelines.

"I'm sorry for--"

"Watari told me already." Irihata cut him off. "You're fine Kunimi-san." He held out the note from the nurse all the same. Irihata took it and read it briefly before nodding. "If you're comfortable, you can jump in. If not, at least sit and watch."

Kunimi almost felt like doing the former, but given his recent luck, decided the latter was a smarter idea. He set his stuff down and sat down on the bench, deciding that watching was doable even with random chest pains. It meant he could watch Kindaichi without feeling like he was slacking off too much. He got a few curious glances from the others, Oikawa seemed almost put out that Kunimi wasn't practicing but there wasn’t a lot he could do about it.

Time passed slowly, though it wasn't boring to watch. He got a new appreciation for how the team functioned. He also saw how Kindaichi was throwing himself into it more than usual, actively taking criticism from Iwaizumi and Matsukawa about his blocking form and trying to improve. It was during a water break that he finally got the first few questions thrown his way as Watari came over.

"So, what did the nurse say?"

He shrugged. "Starting stages. Got some pills for it but..." he shrugged again. "Yeah."

Watari smiled. "You'll be fine." He glanced over his shoulder. "though I doubt you'll get out of here without captain interrogating you."

"Gee...I'm so lucky." Kunimi sighed.

As Kindaichi came over, Watari took his cue to leave with a nod. Kunimi forced a smile at the other, though Kindaichi didn't seem overly comforted by it.

"Are you okay?"

Kunimi sucked in a breath, how was Kindaichi going to take this? "Apparently I'm in the 'starting stages'." He murmured.

Realisation dawned on Kindaichi, his lips parting in an 'oh' formation. "Ah, uh, right." His face flushed bright red within moments. "So...does that mean-"

"I have pills to slow it down. It..." he shrugged. "I don't know what's gonna happen. She said to take Monday off if I need to."

"Are you just gonna go home then?"

Kunimi considered it. If it was going to be as bad as the hearsay made it out to be, he wanted at least one evening of normality before then. "Nah, I'm still good to stay at yours tonight."

"A-Alright." Kindaichi smiled. "Sure thing."

The shrill of the whistle ended their conversation there. He had to admit, the tightness in his chest had eased a little at the confirmation of his evening plans. He could think of nothing better right now than relaxing in the comfort of Kindaichi's room with the stereo turned up a little too loud and the window wide open to let the cool air in.

He resumed watching practice, trying not to think too much about what the next few days had in store for him. Occasionally Irihata would ask him questions about his teammate's playstyles, what they were doing to better themselves as players, how their on-court collaboration would shift in matches. It was a gentle way of keeping him focused without expecting him to know everything.

Kunimi came to the conclusion that Irihata was a much nicer coach than Mizoguchi. He trusted his players to make the right calls, or more specifically, Oikawa.

"I hear you gave your captain some attitude yesterday." He remarked with a chuckle.

Kunimi snorted. "Maybe."

"He cares about you all, not just as a team but individually." Irihata looked pointedly at him. "He tries to bring out the best in everyone, but he can only do that if he knows you trust him."

Kunimi nodded. Truthfully, he admired Oikawa in that sense, but there was a difference between being a caring captain and trying to dig into your kouhai's personal life.

"I understand." He said, wincing at the shrill of the whistle to signal another water break. "Doesn't mean I have to like it."

Irihata laughed. "You've got some fire about you Kunimi-san. Don't lose it, but for god’s sake learn to pick your battles."

Kunimi wryly smiled. He could appreciate that advice, even as Iwaizumi came over, towel slung around his neck and water bottle in hand.

"So," He stated, taking a moment to wipe his face, "did you sort it out with Kindaichi?"

Kunimi raised an eyebrow. "Yeah. We did."

"Good." Iwaizumi glanced over at Oikawa currently berating Kyoutani for something or other. "Last thing we need is you two being at odds."

"Oh there's no danger of that." He remarked. "None at all."

Iwaizumi gave him a puzzled look, it didn't take long for him to nod as a small smile to grace his face. "Right. Well, I hope you feel better soon. Watari told us you were side-lined by the nurse."

Whilst not strictly true, he appreciated Watari's efforts. "Just for today...and maybe Monday."

"Monday?"

"Y-Yeah. Gotta see how the weekend goes."

Iwaizumi gave him a careful nod. "Gotchya. Don't push yourself to come back too soon alright?"

He wasn't sure how he felt about everyone quickly understanding his plight, but he guessed it was better than him having to explain it all the time. Whilst Seijoh weren't open about this sort of thing, they weren't dumb either.

"Got it." He nodded.

"And I'll keep Oikawa from hassling you. At least for today."

"That's the best thing anyone's offered me yet."

Iwaizumi laughed. "Don't feel like you have to hang around after practice, if you wanna go straight away-"

"I'm going to Yuutarou's house."

There was a raised eyebrow. "Alright. Well I'd say wait outside then, Oikawa will pounce on you as soon as you walk in that locker room."

"Noted. Thanks Iwaizumi-senpai."

Iwaizumi nodded before walking back towards the other third years. The remaining half-hour of practice was much of the same, he wasn't bored out of his mind as he started thinking about what he and Kindaichi were going to do later. He remembered to text his parents at least, and true to his assumption, his mom offered to let him charge any takeaway they wanted to her card. He smiled at her predictability.

Once practice drew to a close, he watched the team file into the locker room. Considering three hours ago he was hunched over his desk in agony, he felt strangely fine now. He figured this was what 'starting stages' meant, not constant pain or discomfort but just enough to stop him doing anything taxing. Waiting outside in the cooler air, he assured his teammates he was fine as they started leaving in pairs and small groups. He was thankful that Kindaichi managed to make it out before Oikawa but he looked like he had seen a ghost.

"Alright?" Kunimi asked.

"Uh, yes, I'll tell you in a moment." Kindaichi replied a little too quickly. Kunimi nodded and fell in step with him as he took a brisk pace to the gates. Only when they were well on their way down the street did he decide to elaborate. "Oikawa cornered me in the locker room."

Oh for fuck sake.

"Yeah?"

"He was asking what happened to you." Kindaichi sheepishly smiled. "And you know how he is."

"Unfortunately, yes."

"So...uh, I tried to brush him off, like you do."

"And he didn't relent?"

Kindaichi bit his lip as he sighed. “Iwaizumi stepped in before he could get anything out of me, but it was close.”

Kunimi shrugged. "Then it’s fine, I’ll just handle it whenever I next see him. Don’t worry about it." He glanced between them at Kindaichi's hand. He slowly reached out and brushed his little finger against Kindaichi's. There was a pause before Kindaichi wrapped his finger around Kunimi's. It wasn't the same as holding hands, but it was more than enough to make both of them blush.

"How are you feeling?"

Kunimi smiled at him. "Alright, all things considered." He sighed. "My mom's paying for pizza tonight."

"Great." Kindaichi mirrored the smile. "Did you wanna order as soon as we get in?"

Kunimi honestly had no desire to eat, he was too wrapped up in this new development. "Sure, but I also something else in mind."

Kindaichi pretended to be surprised. Honestly, Kunimi reckoned he had been angling for something. It wasn't like the previous night they had spoken about it or anything. The blush on Kindaichi's face deepened and made Kunimi laugh. The rest of the walk to Kindaichi's house was quiet, but in a comfortable way.

As Kindaichi unlocked his front door, he released Kunimi's hand momentarily. The house was quiet even though his mom was home.

"Hey mom." He called. "Akira's here, is it okay if he stays the night?"

"Sure!" A voice called from down the hallway before Kunimi actually saw Kindaichi's mom poke her head out of the lounge. "Hello Akira-chan."

"Hello." He nodded in greeting.

"Oh we won't need food, Akira's mom has given us money for pizza."

"That's fine, you two got any plans?"

There was a split-second pause before Kunimi jumped in. "Ah just homework, then we're probably gonna chill?"

Kindaichi nodded quickly. Yes. That's definitely what was going to happen. His mother nodded and told them to let her know if they needed anything. They exchanged a glance as soon as they were alone in the hallway.

"Upstairs?" Kunimi offered.

"Yeah." Kindaichi nodded almost dumbly.

It wasn't like this was the first time Kunimi had stayed over, but obviously this was different. Within a few moments of getting into Kindaichi's small room, the door was closed and Kunimi had let his stuff drop to the floor. The window was opened, allowing fresh air in. He had always preferred to hang out at Kindaichi's than his own home, he couldn't pinpoint it exactly, maybe because the room was slightly bigger and the bathroom only across the hall and it was always a comfortable temperature. Little things like that.

Kindaichi stood near his window, evidently not sure what to do now. Kunimi smiled as he started shuffling through Kindaichi's CD collection.

"You know, if I wasn't mistaken Yuu," Kunimi didn't glance up as he read the track listings, "I'd say you're rather eager to have me alone."

There was a noncommittal hum from the other. "Well, you did tell me that you were-"

"I know." Kunimi glanced over. "And you remember the conversation last night, don't you?"

Kindaichi nodded. Kunimi settled on a CD that seemed to have a much longer tracklist than most of the others. He popped it in the stereo and toggled with the dial so the music filtered out at a slightly louder than necessary volume. He always claimed he could only focus on homework if he had music, but today it served a different purpose.

He figured now was probably a decent time to check what the nurse actually gave him. Kindaichi sat on the edge of his bed as he watched Kunimi retrieve the paper bag. As he opened it, his eyes widened.

"Well then."

Kindaichi swallowed. "What?"

Kunimi's face was bright red as he stared at the contents. Along with the box of suppressants were two small bottles of lube and three foil packets. A small information booklet was nestled amongst them but he wasn't in the mood for reading as he brought a hand to rub his face.

"The nurse decided to give me some...supplies." He nervously laughed, fishing out the box of pills before tossing the bag to Kindaichi. He laughed harder as Kindaichi had a similar reaction, blush spreading down his neck as he opened and closed his mouth a few times.

"Y-You...think we'll need them?"

"We?" Kunimi repeated, opening the box of pills. "I mean, I guess we'll...find out?"

The tiptoeing around the subject was slowly killing him, and it seemed Kindaichi was feeling a similar way as he closed the bag and set it aside on the end table. Kunimi made no show of taking the required dosage, they didn't taste of anything and they didn't exactly have an immediate effect.

What did have an immediate effect was the way Kindaichi was watching him. The traces of blush were still evident on their faces as he tossed the box on top of his bag. The silence between them wasn't as noticeable with the gentle thudding bassline coming from the stereo. But now he stood in the middle of the room, the necessary drugs taken, he felt a little like a deer in the headlights.

The promise they made on the phone was lingering in his mind. He hadn't anticipated it becoming relevant so quickly, and he had a feeling Kindaichi was two seconds away from saying something dumb.

"Oi," he broke the silence as he met Kindaichi's gaze, "...kiss me."

Kindaichi was startled at the demand. He nodded quickly which was all that Kunimi needed as crossed the room and made no attempt at being graceful as he climbed into Kindaichi's hold. Their lips met in a nervous, frantic fashion. It wasn't quite like there were weeks of tension building up to it, but more of a sense of relief. He felt that strange fluttering sensation in his chest as he felt Kindaichi's hands resting on his waist, keeping him grounded.

As first kisses went, it was alright. Neither of them had any idea how long it was meant to be and it took Kunimi a moment to pull back and place his hand on Kindaichi's shoulder to calm them both down. He didn't have any words to really describe what he was thinking.

"Hey," Kindaichi breathed, "w-was that okay?"

He let out a breathless laugh. "Yes. Yes it was."

He gazed at Kindaichi with a fond expression. If he had been told this time last week that he'd be sitting in Kindaichi's lap debating whether or not to kiss him again, he would've laughed until his sides hurt. As much as it had been sudden, he couldn't really see how it would be anyone else. No-one else held a place in his life like Kindaichi did, and maybe it required a half-asleep text to make him realise that.

"Now what?" Kindaichi asked.

Kunimi honestly didn't know. He leaned closer and pressed his lips to Kindaichi's again, this time in a lot slower fashion. Unsure what to do with his hands, he settled for resting them at the nape of Kindaichi's neck, fingertips gently caressing sensitive skin. Kindaichi's hands remained at his waist, squeezing every so often as Kunimi parted his lips and sighed into Kindaichi's mouth.

He decided he like kissing Kindaichi. Like, a lot. Whether it was nerves or just his nature, Kindaichi was eager to let him lead and accepted everything he gave. Words were hard to think up as he pulled back. Nothing could really describe how he felt. Kindaichi looked up at him, expression a mixture of awe and adoration. A hand came up and carded through his hair, he lazily smiled and leaned into Kindaichi's touch.

"Akira?"

"Hm?"

"Your thighs are trembling."

He honestly hadn't been aware of it, without the usual stretching he would've done in practice and the tension in his body throughout the day, trembling thighs should've been expected as he had them folded either side of Kindaichi's lap.

"Oh. I knew that." He huffed, wincing now that he was aware of the burning.

"Of course you did." Kindaichi gave him a smug smile. Kunimi wasn't given an opportunity to object as Kindaichi almost effortlessly lifted him up and set him down on the bed. He pushed Kunimi to lie down, letting himself be pulled over Kunimi as he did so.

Kunimi gazed up at him, his cheeks flushed, eyes wide and lips parted in mild surprise. Kindaichi didn't have a plan for what came next, he just assumed this was how things were meant to progress. Kunimi's hands slowly trailed down his arms, squeezing his muscles as a coy smile rested on his face.

"You were impressive in practice today." He murmured.

"Y-Yeah?"

Kunimi wetted his lips, gaze darting over Kindaichi's face. "Couldn't stop watching you."

Kindaichi huffed, either out of embarrassment or modesty. "You're pretty impressive too."

"I don't exactly steal the limelight like other spikers." Kunimi shrugged.

Kindaichi leaned closer, lips brushing against Kunimi’s. "You do for me."

Kunimi laughed at the cliché line. "Shut up." He tilted his face up to seal the kiss. The fluttering in his chest made him breathless each time Kindaichi kissed him. He wanted more, he wanted Kindaichi's lips on his body.

God that would've been a weird thought a few days ago.

He sighed into Kindaichi's mouth again, hands going to his chest and pushing him back slightly "Yuu,"

"Yeah?" His gaze was intense, like he was under some sort of spell and Kunimi was the caster.

"Let me strip."

Kindaichi's eyes widened but he nodded, sitting back on his knees to allow Kunimi to sit up and pull off his various layers of uniform until he was shirtless. He flopped back on the bed with a loud sigh, not really thinking beyond how hot he felt.

"Damn," Kindaichi murmured.

"What?"

"I...never really..." Kindaichi slowly leaned over him again, putting all his weight on one hand as his other skimmed over Kunimi's bare chest. His fingers were calloused, the years of volleyball making them feel rough against Kunimi's skin.

"Well, now you can." Kunimi breathed, he felt too damn warm even only half-dressed. Kindaichi's fingertips skimmed over his chest, drawing invisible circles against pale skin. He flinched slightly as they went back to his sides.

"Ooh I forgot you were ticklish." A grin spread across Kindaichi's face.

"Don't you fucking dare-" He cut himself off with a panicked laugh as Kindaichi started tickling him.

Whatever mood had been hanging around between them was now firmly thrown out the window as Kunimi broke into laughter. Kindaichi took pity on him eventually, and it wasn't because Kunimi nearly kicked him in the stomach, totally not. He flopped down on the bed next to Kunimi, both of them panting and laughing a little between breaths. As Kindaichi gazed at him, Kunimi sighed in content.

"You're an ass."

Kindaichi snorted. "Like you wouldn't have taken the same opportunity." He remarked, poking Kunimi's side again and getting a yelp in mild panic that the tickling was about to resume. "Don't lie to me Akira."

"Shut up." He replied by playfully punching Kindaichi's shoulder.

"Make me."

Kunimi rolled his eyes. "Such an Oikawa line."

"And? Are you gonna?"

Kunimi shook his head. "Nah, I like your stupid comments."

"Geez thanks."

The flurry of activity had worn him out, his usual tiredness was creeping in now as the fading light of day left them in a dimly lit room. Kindaichi didn't seem to care enough to turn on any lights, content to lie in bed together as the night drew in. The quiet between them left space for the stereo to continue chirping to itself. The low thud of the bassline was almost relaxing to him as Kindaichi's arm wrapped around his waist and pulled him a little closer.

"How are you feeling now?"

Kunimi shrugged. "The pain is gone at least. Still feel...weird."

He could see the curiosity in Kindaichi's eyes. There were many questions he wanted to ask but Kunimi couldn't pinpoint which to answer first.

"When will you...know?"

"Nurse gave me a very detailed and gross run down." He wrinkled his nose. "Uh, depending on the pills and shit...I guess it could be as early as tomorrow."

Kindaichi nodded, biting his lip for a few moments in thought. Kunimi waited patiently, a feat in itself, whilst Kindaichi found the words to explain what he was thinking. He splayed his hand on Kindaichi's chest as the quiet continued.

"Did you still want to, I mean I can't really do much but, did you want me to...help in any way?"

Kunimi couldn't see well in the dim room, but he could imagine Kindaichi being bright red as he said that. He smiled to himself. "That's what we agreed isn't it?"

Kindaichi huffed. "I wanted to make sure you hadn't changed your mind."

"Why the fuck would I have changed my mind?"

"I dunno! Just, making sure..."

Kunimi laughed. "It's fine. You're fine." He sighed, curling into Kindaichi's hold. "Honestly, I'm...scared."

A hand trailed down his back in a soothing manner. "I bet."

"So yeah, if, if you're cool with being with me...I'd appreciate it."

"'course." Kindaichi hummed. "I'll be here Akira. Dunno what the fuck I'm gonna do, but I'll be here."

In all honesty, that's all Kunimi could ever ask. He sure as hell didn't know what was gonna happen. He had no idea which one he was going to turn out to be. As blasé as he had been when it came up in conversation a week ago, he was now worrying how it was going to pan out. Kindaichi's touch was comforting as they lay in near darkness.

He lost track of time as the stereo reached the end of the CD. Kindaichi stirred before he did, managing to turn a table lamp on. Soft yellow glow illuminated the room. He didn't ask what time it was, but Kindaichi seemed content that it wasn't too late to order food. He remained sprawled out on the bed as Kindaichi got up and finally got changed out of his practice kit. He shamelessly watched every movement from the bed, admiring the dips and bumps of toned muscle, the way his shorts hung from his hips. Kindaichi glanced over his shoulder and caught him staring.

"You could've asked me to strip any time you know, Akira."

"Sh-Shut up." Kunimi pouted. "I was distracted by your dumb face."

"Uh huh." Kindaichi shrugged off the teasing insult. "The dumb face that you were kissing not long ago."

Kunimi didn't have a response, continuing to pout until Kindaichi came back to him and kissed him. He chuckled into another open-mouthed kiss before Kindaichi pulled away.

"Pizza will be here soon." Kindaichi remarked. "Then we actually have homework we need to do."

"God you're so boring." Kunimi rolled his eyes. "I'm sure our teachers will understand."

"Yeah right," Kindaichi folded his arms. "Sorry sensei, I was too busy kissing Akira all weekend to do your essay."

"You could say 'fucking', that'll shut them up." Kunimi grinned, finding the flush of blush hilarious.

Kindaichi shook his head. "You're impossible."

"You like it really."

"Never said I didn't."

He was about to make some witty remark when the door buzzer sounded. Kindaichi didn't let him say anything, already out the door. Kunimi laughed at himself, at this situation. He thought Kindaichi was coping with it pretty well considering how he usually wasn't good at improvising. Though it wasn't like they were strangers, they had grown up together. There was little Kindaichi didn't know about him.

And what they didn't know, they'd discover together. Just like they agreed.


	3. Chapter 3

Falling asleep in Kindaichi's bed was a strange experience. Having an arm wrapped around him and pulling him close was new, especially when he woke up with Kindaichi's face buried in his shoulder. It felt far too warm under the covers and the weird pain in his chest was back. Slowly, he slipped out of Kindaichi's hold and rolled over. Light was pouring in through the half-closed drapes and he wasn't happy about having to squint.

"Akira?" A sleepy voice mumbled as he checked his phone and saw it was just past nine.

"I'm here, I'm not dead." He mumbled in reply, feeling an arm wrapping around his waist again. "Just give me a second."

He saw the pillbox on top of his bag. It was out of reach, annoyingly. Figuring just to get it done and over with, he got up. His body felt achy in weird places. He wasn't appreciating how quickly the symptoms were piling up. By the time he returned to Kindaichi's bed, he was ready to fall asleep again. Kindaichi was all too eager to pull him close again, half-asleep still as he squeezed Kunimi a little tighter than necessary.

So Kindaichi was a cuddler. Good to know.

The warm hazy feeling that overtook his senses was welcomed in the confines of the bed, the blankets weighing down on him just like Kindaichi's arm. He was vaguely aware that his heart was beating a little faster than usual, he put it down to the change in sleeping conditions.

He fell back to sleep quickly. When he awoke again, he felt _far too hot_. Kindaichi was awake this time, scrolling through messages on his phone as Kunimi abruptly kicked the blankets away.

"Morning Akira." He didn't seem fazed.

"Fuck it's boiling."

"No it's not, you're just feverish." He replied, tossing his phone aside. "It's normal."

"How do you know?"

Kindaichi chuckled. "Because I read the little booklet inside that bag the nurse gave you."

Kunimi tried to glare at him but it had little effect. Truthfully, he was sort of glad someone had read it, he certainly wasn't interested in it. He had tried to scrub most of the gross details the nurse told him about from his mind. "So what now?"

"You take a cold shower and eat something that isn't cold pizza." Kindaichi remarked. "I can make you something."

He would've made some sort of sarcastic comment had the idea of a cold shower not sounded like heaven in that moment. He begrudgingly agreed to the offer of a breakfast that wasn't junk food, getting a chaste peck on the cheek as a reward. Rolling out of bed took effort, but once he was in the confines of the shower with cold water thrashing down on his body, he was content.

He wondered how much information was in that booklet. Had Kindaichi read the entire thing? Did he read it to know what to expect? Was he curious for his own alignment? These were questions he wanted to ask but right then his brain was only capable of registering that the water wasn't cold enough. He spent a while stood under the spray, appreciating the chill that rushed through him. Hopefully, this shower would help fend it off for a few more hours so he could have some semblance of a normal day.

When he made his way downstairs, he was surprised to find they were alone in the house. Kindaichi didn't seem bothered as he glanced up at his arrival in the kitchen. He was presented with a bowl of rice with a raw egg cracked over it. He almost would've preferred cold pizza but he figured Kindaichi wasn't going to take a backseat in this relationship.

He ate without complaint, it was better than he expected and he actually felt more renewed afterwards. Kindaichi smiled at him as he thanked him.

"So, what else did that booklet tell you?" He asked as Kindaichi washed up.

He expected a rush of embarrassment, Kindaichi was surprisingly composed as he replied. "A lot, read the whole thing."

"All of it."

"Yeah, wanted to know what...to expect." He shrugged, his focus was on the dishes in the sink. "I've got a pretty good idea."

"And? What does it reckon?"

He glanced over his shoulder, there was a beat where he held Kunimi's gaze with fondness before he went back to washing dishes. "So far? You could go either way."

"Great. When do the paths diverge?"

Kindaichi paused. "Well, alphas get restless and tend to lean towards aggressive, or...possessive." He put the last dish on the drying rack. "Omegas get clingy and want attention."

Kunimi raised an eyebrow "Good to know."

"You could just read the booklet yourself." Kindaichi remarked, drying his hands and turning around to face him.

He shrugged. Reading it just made it all that much more real. "Well, right now I'm fine. So we don't need to think about it."

"If you say so."

Kunimi nodded. "Did you wanna go for a run like you usually do?"

The sudden change of topic wasn't that jarring, what _was_ jarring was Kunimi wanting to exercise on a weekend. Kindaichi chuckled, setting down the towel.

"You wanna go jogging?"

"Well, yeah." Kunimi shrugged. "I didn't practice yesterday and I probably won't be at practice on Monday so..."

Kindaichi could see the logic, it was still odd for Kunimi to want to do exercise willingly. "Alright. Give me a few to get ready and we can go?"

That was satisfactory for Kunimi. He knew Kindaichi was simply reacting to his usual laziness but he really did want to get outside and do something. He felt like sitting around all day was tempting fate too much. And he did want to at least try to stay on top of his fitness. God only knew that someone would start remarking if his running pace dropped.

The fresh air and bright sun were a little full-on. He almost started feeling woozy before they reached the street corner. It was a warm day, not too warm but the sun wasn't dipping behind clouds like he would've wanted. Kindaichi's runs were always long but slow, often taking up to an hour for him to do a lap of the neighbourhood. Honestly Kunimi didn't mind, it felt good to be doing something productive that wasn't homework.

They took a break in the shade of a tree, he guessed they were around three-quarters of the way around the block. He felt parched as Kindaichi offered the shared water bottle to him. He could feel the other's concerned gaze on him as he drained the bottle.

"You good?"

"Hm?" Kunimi handed back the empty bottle. "Yeah, just, it's hot."

"If you're overheating, we can walk the rest of the way."

"Nah I'm good, honest."

Kindaichi wasn't convinced, he placed a hand on Kunimi's forehead and shook his head. "You're feverish again."

"I'm _fine._ " Kunimi brushed his hand away.

"Akira-" Kindaichi found himself being cut off by Kunimi grabbing him by the shirt and pulling him into a kiss. As much as he appreciated random acts of affection, he was still concerned. He gently pushed Kunimi back. "Nice try."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Kunimi smirked. "Come on."

He released Kindaichi and immediately started off at a jog. Kindaichi had no choice but to follow him. They were on the home stretch anyway, it wasn't like they had to jog miles to get home. Kindaichi was taking a mental note to basically shove Kunimi in the shower once they were back. He could deal with stubbornness and sass but given the situation he felt Kunimi was being a tad irresponsible. He was fairly sure the box of suppressants advised against extreme physical activity such as _jogging in the middle of the day_.

True to his thought, as soon as they were home and he confirmed his parents were both still at work, he dragged Kunimi upstairs. Kunimi protested a little at the rough handling but once locked inside the bathroom together, he got with the idea.

"You know, you could've just asked to share a shower."

Kindaichi snorted, crowding his space already. He could practically feel the heat rolling off him. "Uh huh. Hurry up and strip before I change my mind."

Kunimi could see that Kindaichi was annoyed, not overbearingly so, but a little annoyed nonetheless. He sighed loudly and started stripping off his practice kit. Kindaichi wasn't going to _not_ steal glances, but he was equally focused on making sure Kunimi didn't trip over his own damn clothes.

Whether Kunimi realised it or not, he was starting to fall into the 'clingy and wants attention' territory.

And it sort of terrified Kindaichi.

"Now you." Kunimi remarked as he kicked away his shorts. Kindaichi wasn't going to say no, but he wasn't going to let Kunimi get distracted.

"You get in first, you need it more than I do."

Kunimi pouted slightly but complied. Standing under the cool spray and appreciating it like it was the first rainstorm after a heatwave. Kindaichi rolled his eyes as Kunimi made a 'come here' gesture. He didn't say anything as he stepped under the spray. Kunimi didn't give him long to get his bearings before pushing him against the tiled wall.

This was different to last night. To state the obvious, they were both naked. Which meant Kindaichi could feel Kunimi press against him. Firmly, pressing against him. He held Kunimi's face, because honestly where the hell was he meant to put his hands in this situation? Kunimi's breathing was heavy as he kissed the corner of Kindaichi's mouth.

"Yuutarou." He whispered, the drone of the shower nearly drowning him out. "I..."

"I know." He murmured in reply. "It's okay."

"But...you're not..."

Kindaichi was painfully aware of this. "I know. But I'm still here."

Kunimi smiled, ducking his head and resting his forehead against Kindaichi's shoulder. He didn't want to say anything, he just wanted to feel. He grabbed Kindaichi's hands and set them on his waist, still resting his forehead on Kindaichi's shoulder. The water was still falling against his heated skin as Kindaichi's hands gradually moved. One began stroking his back in soothing motions whilst the other remained at his waist and squeezed every so often. Feeling calloused hands against his body was something he was beginning to crave more than anything.

"How are you feeling?" Kindaichi murmured.

"Good." He whispered.

Kindaichi nodded, they couldn't stay in the shower forever, but at least Kunimi had stopped trying to resist. If anything he was actively trying to get Kindaichi to touch him. It was becoming obvious now which side he was falling on. Kindaichi just needed to work out how to handle it.

"Yuutarou." He murmured into Kindaichi's shoulder. "I'm...scared."

Honestly Kindaichi was too. He tried to think about how their older teammates would handle this situation. Then he threw that thought away as he really didn't want to think about _that_. Kunimi pulled back enough to look at him. He chuckled slightly running his hand through Kindaichi's flattened hair.

"Haven't seen your hair like this in a while."

Kindaichi shrugged. "Does it look better or worse?"

Kunimi replied by kissing him. Smiling into the kiss, Kunimi's hands trailed down Kindaichi's arms, squeezing muscles as he went. "Fuck you're so god damn hot."

Hearing Kunimi say that convinced Kindaichi that he was well and truly gone. He let it slide for now, with any luck Kunimi might not remember it. The water was getting a little too cold for his liking.

"How about," he seized Kunimi's hands before they could wander further down, "we get out of the shower, I fix us a drink, and we hang out in my room."

Kunimi raised an eyebrow. "And do what?"

That was a loaded question if Kindaichi ever heard one. He couldn't deny that the idea wasn't an attractive one. "One thing at a time."

"C'mon Yuutarou." Kunimi teased. "Do what?"

"I'm not having this conversation in the shower." He stated with a coy smile.

"Spoilsport." Kunimi pouted. Kindaichi didn't yield to the pout, convincing Kunimi that he was serious. In a more normal Kunimi fashion, he huffed and rolled his eyes. That was all Kindaichi needed to reach for the controls and turn the water off.

As soon as the cascade of cold water halted, Kunimi got out of the shower and grabbed a towel. He felt better, not entirely 'normal', but better. He was still aware of what was happening, aware of everything he said and did. He just let this strange rise of bravery and confidence take him to wherever he needed to be.

That just happened to be Kindaichi's bed, but hey, the universe was basically telling him to get fucked.

Literally.

He at least pulled on his shorts, he wasn't that far gone yet. Whilst he waited for Kindaichi to join him, he took the time to find this booklet Kindaichi had read. It was plain and clinical, quite boring in his opinion. He flicked through the papery pages that felt far too fragile for an info pamphlet on sex. The word 'omega' stood out to him stark against white paper. He inhaled a shaky breath.

As he read the list of symptoms and the estimated timeline, he wasn't filled with happiness. Given where he was at already, this was going to be a steep descent. He set it aside as the door opened. Kindaichi carried a tray in and set it down on his desk. A large jug of water was the main feature, two glasses joined it and a pile of what looked like energy bars.

"Do I want to know." He remarked.

Kindaichi handed him a glass of water. "You'll thank me later."

Kunimi drained the glass quickly, surprising even himself. Kindaichi refilled it, twice. By the fourth empty glass, he decided he had enough of this hydrating nonsense and just wanted to be held. To his credit, Kindaichi's patience was extraordinary. He made sure to open the window before finally sitting on his bed with Kunimi. His hair was still damp from the shower, sticking up at odd angles as he ran a hand through it.

"What?"

Kunimi had been staring at Kindaichi. "Nothing."

"Akira," Kindaichi poked his side, prompting a squeak in protest, "how are you-"

"I'm fine." He caught Kindaichi's hand. "Just, hold me?"

"Only if you keep your hands to yourself."

Kunimi scoffed slightly but nodded. So Kindaichi shuffled until he was laying down and then beckoned him to lay next to him. Kunimi curled into his hold, sighing heavily. He felt safer this way. Safe in Kindaichi's arms. Like it was where he was meant to be.

"I would say try to get some sleep..."

"Maybe." Kunimi murmured. "I'm sorry."

"The hell are you apologising for?"

"Being...like this."

Kindaichi laughed. "Dude, I was the one who asked _you_ if--"

"I know!" He whined, Kunimi whining reminded Kindaichi of their younger years. He was always whining about something. It was almost funny.

"Then why are you apologising?" Kindaichi's hand was stroking Kunimi’s back again. "Seriously, this is fine."

Kunimi muttered something into Kindaichi's chest. He didn't even try to understand the words. He just pressed a kiss to the top of his head and continued stroking his back. Through the open window the birdsong filtered in. It wasn't exactly the same as having the stereo on but it was enough to fill the silence.

Kunimi remained quiet, or at least he didn't _say_ anything. The longer they lay there, the easier it became for Kindaichi to pick up on the small murmurs and gasps. He was thankful his parents worked on Saturdays. He really didn't want to have to explain this. He felt Kunimi shift abruptly, hooking his leg over Kindaichi's and bringing their bodies closer together. If he was in any doubt before, feeling Kunimi's dick pressed against his certainly proved this was more than 'starting stages'.

"Hey," He murmured, gently pushing his fingers through Kunimi's hair and tugging so he pulled back, "you good?"

Kunimi's eyes were lidded as he met Kindaichi's gaze. "Fucking great." He tried to lean in for a kiss but Kindaichi turned so he kissed Kindaichi's cheek. "No fair..."

"Akira,"

"Mmh?"

He knew what the answer was going to be, but he couldn't just act without asking. "Do you want me to touch you?"

" _God_ yes." Kunimi sighed.

Kindaichi had to chuckle slightly, he felt a little less awkward as he let his hand skim down Kunimi's back, following his spine. He swallowed as Kunimi's gaze on him didn't yield. He felt like he was being eaten alive just by his eyes. Kunimi exhaled as Kindaichi's fingers paused at the waistband of his shorts.

"Do it." He whispered against Kindaichi's lips. "Please."

Kunimi never said the word please. Kindaichi wasn't sure whether he was desperate or teasing. In the end it didn't matter, in the end, he was going to get what he wanted. Kunimi gasped as he felt Kindaichi's fingers slip under the waistband and clumsily reach their destination. He heard Kindaichi's breath hitch as he found the slick already leaking out He was already blown away by the feeling of fingertips at his entrance.

"Fuck..." he breathed as Kindaichi's fingertips gently teased him.

"Does it feel...good?"

Kunimi slowly pressed his lips to Kindaichi's, moaning into his mouth softly as he trailed a hand down Kindaichi's arm encouragingly. Taking that as a good sign, Kindaichi continued in earnest. The longer he teased, the more slick coated his fingers. Kunimi panted and moaned into his mouth.

"More?" Kindaichi breathed as Kunimi broke away.

Kunimi nodded, rocking his hips forward. He felt hot, he needed Kindaichi's hands on him, he just _needed_ Kindaichi. "God it's so...weird."

"Yeah?"

"All I want...right now," he murmured, squeezing Kindaichi's arm, "is you."

Kindaichi's chest ached. At any other time he would've buried his face in his hands in embarrassment and utter adoration. Hearing Kunimi echo the sentiment he himself had kept buried deep in his soul was a cruel way for fate to torture him right now.

"I'm not an alpha though." Kindaichi murmured. "I can't give you what you-"

"I will slap you if you say you can't give me what I need." Kunimi hissed, grip on Kindaichi’s arm tightening. "I just need my best friend to be here for me, I need _you_ to be here for me."

There was a pause as Kindaichi processed what he said. He slowly withdrew his fingers, prompting a whimper from Kunimi at the loss of being teased. He gently pushed Kunimi to lay on his back, hovering over him and taking in the flushed cheeks, lidded eyes and parted lips. Kunimi was beautiful. He always had been in Kindaichi's eyes.

"What are you staring at?" Kunimi breathed, a lazy smile on his face.

"Just you." Kindaichi returned the smile.

As soft at this moment was, there was the elephant in the room. Even if Kunimi's heart wanted him, he physically couldn't deliver what his body craved. He wasn't an alpha, at least not that he knew of. He had read the booklet, he didn't have any of those signs or symptoms. 

Kunimi reached up and held his face. "Yuu, I really need you to fuck me."

Kindaichi burst into a fit of laughter. It wasn't really a laughing matter but Kunimi's way with words was a little too candid for the moment. Kunimi was still smiling up at him despite the demand. There wasn't really a response that Kindaichi could come up with that wouldn't sound cheesy or like it came out of a porn film. So he leaned down and kissed Kunimi, lips parting as Kunimi melted into his touch.

Hands carded through Kindaichi's hair as Kunimi lost himself to the buzz of kissing Kindaichi. Lips broke away from his and started pressing against his neck. He could feel the slight tremble in each touch, the nerves of what they were doing were starting to creep up on them both. Whether Kindaichi was an alpha or not didn't matter, it was still going to be a first for them.

Just a week ago he didn't think this would be a thing. Kunimi tried not to think too much about other things as Kindaichi's lips reached his stomach. His hand found Kindaichi's, squeezing as his hips bucked up. He wanted to stop thinking, stop worrying. He just wanted Kindaichi to take care of him.

Fingertips brushed along the waistband of his shorts again. He bit his lip. He closed his eyes as Kindaichi hooked his fingers under the waistband. He didn't know why he felt embarrassed _now_ , they had showered together not long ago. They had seen each other naked plenty of times. His thoughts distracted him a little from Kindaichi tugging the shorts down. He hissed slightly at the air coming into contact with his crotch. Kindaichi's warm breath across sensitive skin made him shudder.

"Please." He found himself whispering. He felt tense. His entire body felt stiff as a board even as Kindaichi's hands gently set upon his hips. "Yuu..."

"Relax." Kindaichi murmured, rubbing circles into his hips with his thumbs. "You're getting all wound up."

"Am not."

"Are too. I can feel it."

Kunimi wasn't sure if he meant that in the sense that they had known each other long enough for him to 'know' or whether there was something else going on. He huffed in mild frustration as Kindaichi skimmed a hand back up his body and hooked a finger under his chin. He was about to object when lips crashed against his again. At the same time, a hand gently wrapped around his cock. He whimpered into Kindaichi's mouth, pleading and bucking his hips up into Kindaichi's hand.

As much as getting a handjob was good, it wasn't where he needed Kindaichi's attention.

"Please, please Yuutarou..." he whispered, "Nngh, I need..."

Kindaichi's hand quickened, varying the pressure from base to tip that had Kunimi teetering on the edge of cumming within moments. He would blame the adrenaline in his body, the heightened tension between them. The way Kindaichi's calloused fingers stroked him just right and how he had Kindaichi's lips against his as he crashed over his orgasm.

As much as it eased some of his tension, it was nowhere near what he needed. He panted against Kindaichi's lips, his vision slightly blurry. Kindaichi's cheeks were flushed red, looking almost as wrecked as he imagined _he_ looked.

"Feeling a little less wound up?" Kindaichi remarked, a smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"I guess." Kunimi sighed, still feeling the buzz in his veins. "Can you-"

Kindaichi slowly kissed him, cutting him off. Kunimi reached up and ran his fingers in his hair, tugging slightly as he tried to get his urgency across as his eyes slipped shut again. Kindaichi was led between his legs, the friction of his shorts against Kunimi's bare body was driving him slightly insane. He was already craving more. As they kept kissing, he felt a rumble in Kindaichi's throat, the faintest of growls escaped as he broke away and kissed Kunimi's jaw, then his neck. As lips pressed against tender skin, Kunimi felt a shiver run down his spine.

"Ooh." he breathed, it felt odd, like Kindaichi had exposed something he didn't realise he was hiding. As Kindaichi pressed an open-mouthed kiss to the same spot he shivered again. "Aah Yuu..."

"Hmm?" Kindaichi's voice sounded rougher as he bumped his forehead to Kunimi's temple. "Yeah?" He whispered in his ear.

"Just...that spot..."

He felt Kindaichi smile. "Sensitive?"

He nodded. That didn't mean he wanted Kindaichi to _stop_. He craned his neck a little to allow him more access. He didn't know why he felt compelled to do it, but Kindaichi seemed more onboard than he should've been. Teeth grazed the spot and Kunimi moaned, it was so unexpected that his eyes flew open in surprise. Slowly he turned to look Kindaichi in the eye again.

He felt his stomach drop a little as Kindaichi's lidded gaze found his. He had no idea Kindaichi could look so damn hot, biting on his lip as he looked Kunimi up and down sprawled out underneath him. Fingers brushed over his chest, goosebumps being left in their wake as Kunimi's laboured breathing filled the silence between them.

Kindaichi tilted his head to the side slightly. "You still want me to fuck you Akira?"

Oh god hearing those words from Kindaichi's usually clean mouth sent a wave of _something_ straight to his core. He nodded, lazily smiling up at him. Kindaichi abruptly got up off the bed and grabbed the bag, rummaging around he pulled out one of the bottles and a foil packet. Kunimi exhaled as he eyed the two items.

There was a sense of urgency about Kindaichi as he stripped off his clothes without much thought and fitted himself between Kunimi's legs again. The blush on his cheeks was still noticeable but there was a hunger to his kisses as he stole Kunimi's lips again. The air felt different, like the way the sky would feel static before a storm. Except this was more like a hurricane.

He inhaled sharply as he felt their cocks rub against one another. There was something else in the air and he wanted more. A strong, husky smell that made him quiver. Kindaichi's hands held his hips again, gently rubbing circles into them as he pulled back. Kunimi could appreciate the sharp angles of his jawline from this view, his broad shoulders and strong waist that currently had Kunimi’s legs wrapped around them.

He could appreciate the view even more if Kindaichi stopped delaying the inevitable. His body was pleading for it, he wasn't far away from being a pleading mess again. He reached out to grab Kindaichi's hand but found both his wrists being pinned back on the pillow.

The strong scent filled his senses. He whimpered. Something in the back of his mind was telling him this wasn't just two friends fucking anymore.

"Yuutarou?"

"Hm?" Kindaichi's demeanour wasn't that different, incredibly horny, yes, but aggressive? No.

"Do you...feel different?"

Kindaichi considered it for a moment before shrugging. "Maybe I'm just as...excited as you are."

Kunimi wetted his lips, he didn't know much about alphas, but he figured there was one way to tell. He tilted his face up, asking for another kiss. Kindaichi obliged. It was slow, almost sweet until lips parted as a tongue slipped into his mouth. His jaw began to ache as he allowed Kindaichi to openly kiss him, waiting for him to pull back before smirking into the lingering kiss.

"Alpha..." he whispered.

Kindaichi's eyes widened slightly. There was a pause as Kunimi held his gaze. The longer he wasn't granted what he wanted, the less control he had over his actions. That much could be said for both of them.

"Yeah, you heard me _alpha_."

He was playing with fire in more ways than one. If he was right then god only knew how this was going to go down now. Kindaichi growled slightly again, hands still keeping Kunimi's wrists against the pillow. 

"Go on." He urged, licking his lips and making a show of it, "fucking ruin me, make me _yours_."

"I'm not going to ruin you." Kindaichi's indignant reply came. "I'm not just any guy off the street," he leaned closer, "Akira, we're more than that and you know it."

At any other point Kunimi would've rolled his eyes and scoffed at Kindaichi's delaying but the sensitive nature of this situation made him more thankful. As much as he wanted to be fucked into oblivion, he wanted Kindaichi to still be himself. This was still their first.

Once again, he tilted his face up, Kindaichi gave him a gentle peck on the lips. "That being said," he gave another peck, "if you'll have me, I'll be yours and yours alone."

"We already agreed we would." Kunimi replied in a hushed tone. "Can you just get on with it?"

"You're so impatient." Kindaichi chided, releasing Kunimi's wrists. "Anyone would think you're in heat."

"Well I sort of _am_."

"No this is _presenting_. Your heat will be later." Kindaichi picked up the bottle of lube. "Did you not listen to anything the nurse said?"

"Pft, like I had the mental capacity to listen to anyone." Kunimi watched him uncap it and begin to slick his fingers up; only two, but two would be more than enough to begin with. His breathing quickened as Kindaichi's free hand gently pushed his thigh back, exposing him further.

"I know," Kindaichi remarked, dipping his fingers between Kunimi's legs, "you've always been stubborn."

Kunimi pouted slightly, his feigned irritated melted as he finally got more of the attention he craved. The coolness of the lube caught him off guard but he practically melted at the contact. His chest heaved as the buzz grew louder. He had been ignoring it whilst he and Kindaichi had danced around the subject but now it was back in full swing.

And it wasn't going to be ignored now.

"Yuu..." he breathed, spreading his legs further apart, "please just--"

A fingertip slipped in and he nearly came there and then. He was far too accommodating too quickly as a second fingertip pressed in alongside it. He felt tight, like all the tension was back with Kindaichi's curious gaze on him. He whimpered as it was too much and not enough all at once. He could see Kindaichi's cock already hard and heavy, he could already imagine how it would feel inside. The thoughts alone were only acting to quicken his descent into the haze.

Kindaichi was two knuckles deep into him when he leaned back over Kunimi and nuzzled the crook of his neck. The tender spot from before felt more sensitive now and Kunimi once again craned his neck to allow him better access. Lips and teeth pressed against the sensitive skin.

"please please...please more--" he babbled breathlessly, "Yuu please..."

"Y-Yeah." Kindaichi pulled away. He gently pulled his fingers out and poured more lube on them, coating three of them this time. He didn't hesitate to press all three into Kunimi, watching as his lips parted in a low moan. "More?"

Kunimi tossed his head from side to side, hands clutching the edge of the pillow until his knuckles were white. "Just--just fucking fuck me already. I just-"

Kindaichi thrust his fingers, the obscene sounds accompanying the motions. Kunimi's entire body was flushed red, his cheeks and neck darker than Kindaichi had ever seen. his cock was leaking precum over his stomach, lacing it with white stripes. His thighs quivered as Kindaichi’s free hand gentle pushed them further apart still. Watching his fingers sinking into Kunimi again and again was obscene but he was almost entranced by it.

"Yuutarou..." He whined, he was trembling at this point, adrenaline and the hormones had gotten too much for even Kunimi's stubborn attitude to fend off. It prompted a protective feeling in him, almost possessive.

"I'm here." He slowed his motions and gradually withdrew his fingers.

After wiping them on the bedsheets, he took the foil packet in his hands. Kunimi wriggled impatiently though not out of spite or taunting, he was whimpering and moaning softly at the loss of stimulation. He was quick to prepare himself, all but emptying the lube bottle so he could coat his cock for an easier entrance.

"Oi Akira," he called, "open your eyes."

Kunimi whined but complied, slowly opening his eyes and meeting Kindaichi's gaze. His breath hitched as he saw him between his legs, poised to thrust in. God he was gonna be dead later. So fucking dead.

"You ready?"

"I've been ready for fucking hours-"

Kindaichi huffed in amusement at the attitude that was still there even if Kunimi's voice was more pleading than normal. He rubbed the head of his cock against Kunimi's stretched entrance, biting his lip as he anticipated how tight it was going to feel. Slowly, he pressed in. Kunimi threw his head back against the pillow and sighed heavily in content, like he had finally sat down after a gruelling practice. As soon as Kindaichi's hips bumped against his, Kunimi wrapped his legs around his waist.

Kindaichi stilled, letting them both adjust to the position. He was right in his assumption; Kunimi was tight. His breathing was short and quick, trying to keep himself from giving into urges he hadn't had before. The urge to thrust rough and fast, to have Kunimi screaming his name, the urge to bite down on pale skin and mark Kunimi up as his and his alone.

Slowly, he gave shallow thrusts. Kunimi’s squeaks and moans were quick to follow. His eyes had fluttered shut again, lips parted as he tossed his head from side to side. Kindaichi gradually got the grip on his waist to loosen so he could give more purposeful thrusts. He knew he wouldn't last long, not after this much build up and how much Kunimi had unknowingly teased him.

But he wasn't _there_ yet.

"Akira." He grunted, steadying himself on the bed with a hand either side of Kunimi. "Are you close?"

There wasn't a response, at least not one he could understand. There was a keening whimper as Kindaichi thrust deeper and stilled. He took a moment to catch his breath and calm himself. Kunimi was clenching around him and it was driving him a little insane. It felt so good, it felt like heaven but Kunimi was seeking something specific.

"Yuutarou..." Kunimi whined, cracking his eyes open, it should be a crime to look so beautiful whilst so dishevelled. "Alpha please..."

"I will, I will," He nodded, panting a little, "just give me-"

"I'll ride you if you're too tired," there was a quirk of a smirk and Kindaichi would be lying if the idea of having Kunimi in his lap wasn't really fucking hot, "just give me it."

Who was Kindaichi to deny Kunimi what he wanted? He was always the one to follow Kunimi's lead anyway. Always.

He nodded, slowly pulling out. Despite the obvious trembling and desperation in the way he moved, Kunimi was quick to shove Kindaichi to sit against the wall. He stole Kindaichi's lips in a heated kiss once he was straddling his lap. Kindaichi slipped in easily, finding the new angle and the way Kunimi was adamant he was going to get what he wanted more intense than before.

His hands trailed up Kunimi's thighs, blunt fingernails scraping against pale skin as he felt the muscles flexing. Volleyball had given even Kunimi's lithe frame definition and strength. Not that their hours of receive practice had been in preparation for _this_ kind of receiving. Now eye-level with one another, Kunimi could appreciate the heated gaze that he didn't realise Kindaichi was capable of giving. He smiled into each messy open-mouthed kiss, rolling his hips in earnest.

The sound of skin slapping against skin was louder, the obscene squelch of slick and lube only overpowered by Kunimi's keens and whimpers as his pacing became sloppier. He pleaded against Kindaichi's lips, begging and whimpering for his alpha's knot.

Each snap of his lips brought Kindaichi's cock deeper in him, his thighs and calves flexed as he lifted himself up and down with minimal help. Kindaichi's hands settled on pulling his asscheeks apart , rolling his hips up to meet Kunimi's.

"C-Close..." Kunimi panted into his mouth, "please please--I want...please give it to me I promise I'll be a good-"

"I know." Kindaichi grunted back. "I know."

He was so close, every nerve ending in his body was on edge. He wanted to please Kunimi, he wanted to give him everything he wanted. He gripped Kunimi's hips almost painfully as he thrust up and pulled Kunimi down at the same time. He felt Kunimi clench around him at the same time as the air was knocked out of him. Kunimi all but sobbed in pleasure as a sudden stretch was felt. Kindaichi threw his head back against the wall, wincing at the impact but too far gone to care.

Kunimi slumped forward, burying his face in the crook of Kindaichi's neck. He felt so full. He could hear his pulse in his ears as he gently rocked back and forth, feeling the knot tug on his rim. His mind was static, behind his closed eyes he could see bursts of colour. His body didn't feel like it weighed anything.

So this was what bliss felt like.

Hands gently came up and stroked his back. He was still moaning softly even as Kindaichi seemed to come back to himself enough to trail his hands up and down his thighs again.

"Akira." He murmured in Kunimi's ear. "You okay?"

Kunimi huffed, not wanting to think about words. Even pulling back from Kindaichi was slightly gross given he had cum all over their chests. He wrinkled his nose, still in a daze as Kindaichi cupped his face.

"Talk to me." His voice was soft, punctuating the request with a gentle kiss. "Are you okay?"

"God your dick is so big." he mumbled, half-smiling. "Fuck I could get used to being stuffed like this-"

Kindaichi shut him up with another kiss, laughing a little breathlessly into it. He pressed his forehead to Kunimi's, appreciating the soft moment. "You're not aching, are you?"

Kunimi shrugged. "I'm so happy right now." He leaned forward again to bury his face in Kindaichi's shoulder. Sensing they weren't moving just yet, Kindaichi held him, allowing the quiet in their minds to settle.

It was relieving in a way. Even when Kindaichi felt the slightly uncomfortable sensation of his knot easing. Kunimi pined a little as he slipped out, mumbling about how empty he felt and how weird it all was now. Kindaichi gently bundled him off his lap so he could at least get rid of the condom. Though once standing he figured he might as well start the clean-up. First though, he poured Kunimi another glass of water and insisted he accept it.

Kunimi allowed Kindaichi to boss him around for a few minutes, insisting he drank water, moving so the bed sheets could be stripped and replaced, the dirty ones thrown in the laundry along with most of Kunimi's clothes, accepting another glass of water and an energy bar to stave off exhaustion. He was fine with it. He was more than fine actually, he liked not having to do things.

Once Kindaichi was satisfied that the clean-up was done, he offered a hand to Kunimi. "Come on, we need to shower." He remarked, taking Kunimi's hand.

"Ugh." Kunimi muttered, allowing Kindaichi to pull him up off the bed.

"Hey, you were pretty much begging for us to share a shower earlier."

Kunimi smirked slightly, the memory of earlier coming back quickly. "I mean, can you blame me?"

Kindaichi decided not to answer. Their second shower together was a lot less heated, though Kunimi was still insistent on kissing Kindaichi under the cool spray of water, he was a lot less handsy. Kindaichi even managed to persuade him to stop kissing long enough to wash his hair. Once out and dried off, Kunimi was ready to sleep the rest of the afternoon away.

The smell of fresh bedsheets and one of Kindaichi's slightly-too-big shirts was heavenly. The window was pushed open a little wider to try and fan out the smell of sex and Kindaichi even went the extra mile and turned the stereo on, though it was a lot quieter than usual. Finally, after being pouted at longingly, Kindaichi let Kunimi drag him into bed again.

"It's nap time." Kunimi muttered, burying his face in Kindaichi's chest.

Kindaichi smiled to himself, not bothering to argue. He wasn't as tired, but after the whirlwind of activity he was content to lay in bed with Kunimi as he slept away the lingering effects of his presenting. He found it a little odd how it hadn't been a full-blown heat like the booklet had indicated it could've been. Likewise he was definitely confused and a little concerned that the entire situation prompted _his_ maturing.

Whilst Kunimi slept, Kindaichi started googling things on his phone. He would come to learn that it wasn't an uncommon phenomenon, that it was prevalent in couples who had known each other longer than most. Childhood friends who trusted each other with every little secret seemed to fall into that category. He was satisfied they weren't freaks of nature at least.

Kunimi barely stirred as the minutes turned into hours. Kindaichi stopped researching and browsed the internet in general for a while. It reminded him of many normal afternoons they spent together; Kunimi being lazy and refusing to finish his homework whilst Kindaichi was much more disciplined and insistent. It occurred to him that with this whole development, it gave Kunimi another thing to try and procrastinate doing homework with.

Eventually, after around two hours, Kunimi stirred. Kindaichi had started dozing in the warm afternoon heat but he perked up when Kunimi sat up abruptly.

"You good?"

Kunimi glanced over his shoulder at Kindaichi, he seemed startled, almost unsettled. He figured that the effects of presenting had worn off finally.

"...what day is it?"

Kindaichi raised an eyebrow. "Saturday afternoon." He replied, not moving from where he was laying. "You okay?"

Kunimi blinked, glancing around the room and then down at the shirt he was wearing before looking back at Kindaichi. "...so it wasn't all a fever dream?"

"No...?"

There was a loud sigh of relief before Kunimi flopped back down. Kindaichi gave him a weird look prompting him to elaborate. "I had a weird dream, or...I dunno." he rubbed his face. "All I know is that you and I weren't..." he trailed off, rolling onto his side so he could be eye-to-eye with Kindaichi.

An unspoken question hung in the air. Kindaichi had figured it would come up eventually but so soon after it all? He waited, wanting Kunimi to be the one to ask. Kunimi being the stubborn asshole he is, wasn't having any of it.

"...it wasn't a fever dream...right?"

"I don't know what you're hung up on," Kindaichi cupped his cheek, "I can't read your mind Akira."

Kunimi pouted. "...I thought alphas knew these things."

Kindaichi snorted. "We...do and we don't." He shrugged. "Depends what you're asking."

"Are we...I mean we agreed we'd be each other's firsts. Not what would happen _after_."

Ah. That was it. Kunimi the ever analytical. For all his reluctancy to do anything remotely exhausting, he was smart. Most people forgot that. Kindaichi sometimes forgot that in all honesty.

"What do you want?"

Kunimi worried his lip between his teeth, gaze fixed on Kindaichi's. This shouldn't be so difficult to admit; that being with Kindaichi was the only thing that made sense. That he didn't want anyone else. That no-one else made him feel this weird mixture of giddy and relaxed at the same time.

That he had fallen in love with his best friend and didn't realise it until he sent that stupid text at 3am.

"I want you." He stated. "Always."

Kindaichi smiled, it was one of his slightly goofy half-smiles that always reminded Kunimi of their middle school photos. The hand against Kunimi's cheek moved to card fingers through his hair.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." Kunimi's cheeks were slightly flushed. "And what do you want?"

Kindaichi kept smiling at him, Kunimi thought he should smile more often, but then again, he wanted to be the only one to see this smile. He was selfish like that.

"I want to be yours and yours alone. I meant it when I said it earlier."

"Okay to be fair, I don't remember half of what _I_ said earlier," Kunimi remarked with a coy smile. "But...I remember that." He shuffled closer, close enough to bump his nose against Kindaichi's. "I...yeah. Yeah."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

Kindaichi pressed his lips to Kunimi's in a slow, chaste fashion. Kindaichi decided he liked this soft side of Kunimi, there was enough stubbornness and sass to be endearing but he wasn't afraid to let his guard down. He had always trusted Kindaichi, but in recent months it had been hard to tell if he was putting up walls or not.

Having him so open and yearning for affection was new, a good kind of new. Kindaichi would have to get used to it but the trade-off was worth it. He got to see Kunimi's lazy smile and hear his laugh more often and those were always worth it.

The evening drew in quickly, Kindaichi's parents returned home from work and Kindaichi asked if they minded Kunimi staying another night. There was a slightly mortifying moment when his father seemed to understand what exactly had happened but he wasn't the sort of man to poke fun at his son.

If Kindaichi was being honest, he figured his parents had known this was going to happen all along.

Falling asleep that night without the apprehension of the previous night hanging over them was like a weight had lifted. Kunimi insisted on wearing Kindaichi's shirt to bed again and Kindaichi wasn't going to complain, it meant it would smell like the other and help ease any loneliness to come. Laying in the darkness, Kunimi welcomed Kindaichi's embrace, his arm snaking around his waist and tugging him back so he was flush against Kindaichi's chest. Lips pressed against the nape of his neck, slow and gentle, lulling him into a doze. As lips brushed against his sensitive spot he moaned involuntarily, making Kindaichi chuckle.

"Stop it..." he half-heartedly muttered.

"Sorry, I just...felt drawn to it."

Kunimi snorted. "If you like it that much, put your mark on it."

Kindaichi knew exactly what Kunimi was angling for, he wasn't going to deprive his lover of it. More open-mouthed kisses were pressed to the same spot with Kunimi trying to keep his moans and whimpers to a minimum. As teeth grazed the tender skin he gasped. Kindaichi couldn't see what he was doing, but he could feel Kunimi squirming and hear him whining. He was slow about it, almost torturously so, kissing and sucking the bonding mark onto pale skin.

"God I'm gonna get a lecture and a half." Kunimi remarked sleepily. "And Oikawa isn't gonna let me live it down."

Kindaichi snorted. "Oh well. At least he won't find out through someone else."

That gave Kunimi an idea. A dangerous idea, but an idea nonetheless.

"Yeah, what a tragedy it would be if he was the last to know..."

Kindaichi got the feeling he said something he shouldn't have. He decided to brush it off and hope that Kunimi wasn't about to get them both killed.

* * *

Someone decided it would be a good idea to host a lunchtime study session on a Monday. No-one really knew who came up with it or why, but most had been strangely enthusiastic about it. Yahaba was more suspicious than Oikawa, that was for sure. He glared at Watari as he had been the one to bring it up to him in their last class, yet Watari claimed to have no idea what was going on.

Because he didn't. Kunimi had decided that if he was going to be outed to the entire team, he wanted to have the last laugh. All it took was a 'stray text' to Matsukawa and the game was afoot. When the third years said to do something, you did it.

Kindaichi had only been clued in because it was his life also at stake, and Kunimi was rather poor at hiding his smirk right now. That was also generating suspicion from Yahaba but he dropped it as Oikawa and Iwaizumi arrived at the table. Iwaizumi glanced between him and Kindaichi but didn't say anything as Oikawa loudly stated that he was surprised they were all so eager to study together again.

"Yeah well you know how it is," Matsukawa remarked, glancing at Hanamaki, "the more time we spend together as a team, the better we'll be."

Hanamaki nodded in agreement. "Yeah, gotta spend time together or else we might get too focused on our own development."

Iwaizumi was _immediately_ onto them. He gave them both an accusatory glare that had little effect on them if their calm smiles were anything to go by. Kunimi pretended to be focused on the textbook open in front of him as Oikawa shrugged off the strange conversation.

Now that everyone was present, Kunimi could let the rest of his scheme unfold. He tapped out the first text and sent it. A few moments later, Watari's phone pinged.

Kindaichi started chewing on the end of his pen, a nervous tick he had developed in the last two minutes as Watari raised his eyebrows at the text, glanced up at Kunimi before tapping out a 'reply'.

The reply was really him forwarding the message to Hanamaki. One by one, phones pinged with incoming messages. Kunimi could feel the anticipation building. By the time the message got to Kyoutani, Kunimi was barely listening to Oikawa's rambles about physics.

"Eh?" Kyoutani uttered aloud as he scowled at his phone. Kunimi shook his head as Kyoutani looked up at him. Raising his eyebrows, he nodded back to the phone in his hand.

Iwaizumi was more on the ball than Kunimi gave him credit for, glancing between him and Kyoutani as if he could read into the silent conversation. After what felt like an eternity, Kyoutani played along, forwarding the message with half a grumble. A few more pings later, Iwaizumi glanced at his phone.

This is where the plan could fall apart, Kunimi held his breath and waited. Iwaizumi was slow to read the message but said nothing, idly tapping something. There was a ping from Yahaba's phone followed by Kunimi's phone going off.

_‘You're playing a dangerous game here. I can't protect you from your own stupidity.’_

Kunimi smirked, quickly tapping out a reply as Yahaba scowled at his phone pinging.

_‘It's worth dying over.’_

Kunimi sighed heavily, knowing that now Yahaba was reading the text, his life was over as he knew it.

"Hold on," Yahaba interrupted Oikawa's ramble about space and how magnetic fields work, "What the fuck-"

Oikawa pouted at being interrupted. "What is it?"

Yahaba glared at Kunimi. "I told you I didn't want to know!"

Kunimi shrugged. "Figured it might be useful ahead of next year."

Oikawa looked baffled, which honestly was the best thing about this entire situation. He had the satisfaction that Oikawa hadn't managed to read him like a book, that he was going to find out through the same grapevine that he had _started_ all of this with.

"I don't care who you're fucking!"

That had Oikawa's attention. "Uhm, excuse me?" He blinked, looking at Kunimi. "Care to explain?"

Kunimi shrugged. "Not really."

Yahaba was all too happy to oblige. "Him and Yuutarou are a thing apparently."

Oikawa looked to Matsukawa and Hanamaki, "Did you know about this?"

The duo exchanged a glance, Hanamaki pretended to think for a moment as Matsukawa nodded. "Oh yeah, we were told like yesterday."

"Mhm," Hanamaki agreed, "Akira sent Mattsun a text about it."

Watari nodded in agreement. "I knew on Friday, he asked me about it. I told Iwaizumi that was why Kunimi couldn't practice."

Oikawa looked to Iwaizumi who merely shrugged. "Iwa-chan how could you?"

"Me?" Iwaizumi snorted. "I had nothing to do with this."

That was a lie, but Kunimi could appreciate that Iwaizumi was one of the biggest trolls on the team. Especially if it aided him in getting Oikawa to stop being a slut for gossip. Oikawa raised his eyebrows as his gaze finally met Kunimi's.

"And when exactly were you going to tell me?"

Kunimi shrugged again. "I figured you'd hear about it one way or another." He glanced at Yahaba and smirked. "I was right."

It took Yahaba two seconds to realise he had been played. Oikawa sat back in his seat and pressed his fingertips together like he was the head of the Yakuza. There was an unsettling smirk on Oikawa's face as Kunimi knew his point had sunk in. Beside him Kindaichi had remained silent and still, almost as if pretending to be a statue would help avoid his untimely death.

"Very well Akira-kun." Oikawa stated. "I do hope you enjoy spiking practice, because I'm going to work you into the ground today."

"Worth it." Kunimi returned the smirk with a smug smile. "Do your worst."

He would regret saying that by the time practice finished. He ached all over and was fairly sure he had shed several pounds just by sweating alone. As much as his body hated him for it, he had that satisfaction that he beat Oikawa at his own game.

Though the real prize was having Kindaichi carry him home because his knees refused to work properly. He would flop into bed as soon as he was able to and finally let out a sigh of relief he had been holding in. This was far from over, Oikawa would hold a grudge for a few days and Yahaba would be even worse for a while. The entire team now knew about his sex life and his alignment.

But despite all that, he was at peace with himself. Whatever happened next, he wasn't scared to face it. He had weathered this storm and come out not only more at peace but with a newfound love for his best friend. 

* * *

Now with the sequel: _[Impatient](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24117586)_

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it (◠‿◠✿)


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